‘Frankly, we don’t trust them’: Constitutional row between Scotland and UK deepens The constitutional row between the Scottish and UK governments has deepened after one of Nicola Sturgeon‘s key ministers said Holyrood […]

The constitutional row between the Scottish and UK governments has deepened after one of Nicola Sturgeon‘s key ministers said Holyrood will refuse to consent to forthcoming Brexit legislation.

Michael Russell said the devolution system which has operated since the creation of the Scottish Parliament almost 20 years ago was “broken” and that the two governments did not trust each other.

“It is very difficult to do that work because, frankly, we don’t trust the UK Government” The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Michael Russell MSP

The Brexit minister said he “couldn’t conceive of circumstances” where Holyrood would give its consent to the UK’s legislation on leaving the EU until the situation was addressed.

The standoff raises the prospect of Scottish MSPs repeatedly refusing to give their consent to key Brexit legislation on trade, agriculture and fisheries and having to be overruled by Westminster.

This has already happened in the case of the EU Withdrawal Bill, which was voted through by MPs despite Holyrood ‘s objections. It marked the first time this has happened since devolution in 1999.

Mr Russell said the situation made a mockery of the Sewel Convention, under which Westminster does not normally legislate on devolved matters without Holyrood’s approval.

He argued that the only way to resolve the constitutional standoff would be for the convention to be made legally binding by UK ministers. It is currently deemed to be only a political agreement.

“We are absolutely clear that the way that devolution operates and the structures of devolution have failed, and they failed because the UK Government is refusing to operate them,” he told the BBC.

Sewell Convention ‘should be changed’

“On the Sewel Convention, we need to have the interpretation of that written down in statute and made legally binding, because what we’ve presently got is a situation where the UK Government makes the rules and then breaks them themselves, and there are no sanctions.”

He added that he “couldn’t conceive of circumstances in which we brought legislative consent motions about Brexit issues to the chamber until we have resolved the issue of the Sewel Convention and the way the parliaments work together. We don’t trust that system any longer.”

He accepted that there was “practical work” for both governments to do to prepare for Brexit, but added: “it is very difficult to do that work because, frankly, we don’t trust the UK Government”.

His warning came as Ms Sturgeon met Theresa May‘s de facto deputy David Lidington at a British-Irish Council meeting in Guernsey, also attended by Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones.

The Scottish First Minister said the EU Withdrawal Bill had put a “strain” on trust between the two governments, adding it could only rebuilt if “the principle of consent and respect” was followed.

Mr Lidington also admitted there had been “serious disagreement” over the Brexit bill but insisted that the Sewell Convention had been “upheld in full” by the UK Government.

Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins said: “Like everything the SNP does, this is a calculated tactic which it thinks will bring independence closer.

“The nationalists don’t care about making Brexit work for Scotland, or indeed the wellbeing of devolution. They simply want to break-up Britain, and this is the latest ploy in that process.”