THERESA May has been accused of "sticking two fingers up" to Scotland with a brutal Brexit "power grab".

Senior SNP figures attacked May's "intransigence" after UK ministers published a list of 24 devolved policy areas they want to keep control over after Brexit.

The Prime Minister was savaged ahead of talks between May and Nicola Sturgeon at Downing Street this week.

May was accused of using Brexit as an excuse to seek to destroy the devolution settlement.

In exclusive interviews with the Sunday Herald, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Scotland's economy secretary Keith Brown, who is the frontrunner in the race to become the party's deputy leader, and senior MP Tommy Sheppard, all launched blistering attacks on the PM ahead of the talks this Wednesday.

The SNP has accused the Tories of planning the wholesale transfer of powers from Brussels to Whitehall and Westminster.

Westminster will take charge of policy areas traditionally devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The 24 policy areas include animal health and welfare, food standards, hygiene law, food labelling, chemical regulation, procurement and services.

Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh governments want those areas to come under their control, when they are repatriated from Brussels.

However, UK ministers want to oversee those areas, and others on the list, when the UK leaves the EU.

Blackford said the publication of the list of powers by Cabinet Office minister David Lidington showed May was not taking the negotiations with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon seriously.

Speaking to the Sunday Herald, Brown said the move was a "very aggressive attack on Scottish devolution".

The SNP cabinet minister said Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and her 13 MPs had acted as "cheerleaders for this power grab".

Brown said the move by Tory ministers could see other powers hoarded in Westminster.

He said: "Who knows how far they will go with this. We've seen some real intransigence on the part of the UK government. What's more worrying is that this list of powers they have published has implications for other areas.

"It's a very aggressive attack on Scottish devolution. The Scottish Tories have acted as cheerleaders for this power grab by the UK Government.

"We were told that these Scottish Tories were different from those in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet there is a comparison to the Thatcherite Tories with the attitude to Scotland and the hostility to devolution. This could be devastating for Scotland."

Meanwhile, Blackford claimed May was determined to ride roughshod over Scotland by hoarding powers from Brussels in London.

Blackford said: "It seems to be clear that the position of the UK Government is that it doesn't respect the devolution settlement. They have totally failed to show the trust and respect that should be at the heart of the settlement.

"We're now in a situation where we've got to defend the principle of devolution as UK ministers are riding roughshod over the wishes of the Scottish people."

Blackford said May had failed to "learn the lessons" of last year's general election, when the Tories lost their overall majority at Westminster.

He said: "It's absolutely no way to behave and the Prime Minister does not seem to have reflected on that fact that she's the leader of a minority administration and has got to show respect to the devolved administrations.

"Instead of that, Theresa May and her government have displayed total intransigence towards the Scottish and Welsh administrations."

The SNP Westminster leader said May had already decided to press ahead with the power grab irrespective of the outcome of her talks with Sturgeon.

He added: "It's them drawing a line in the sand over this issue and showing complete arrogance. It's deeply alarming and shows they are not taking the Downing Street talks seriously or showing any respect to the Scottish Parliament."

Ministers at Westminster have said the 24 devolved areas would only be temporarily retained in London following Brexit.

They insist that "the vast majority of powers returning from Brussels will start off in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast".

Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, who is conducting talks with the devolved governments, previously said: "There is a much smaller group of powers where the devolved governments will be required to follow current EU laws for a little bit longer while we work out a new UK approach."

However, prominent SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said civil servants could have seamlessly devolved the powers to Holyrood.

Sheppard said it was an attempt by Tory ministers to "take back control for themselves" of powers that should be devolved.

He said: "This could not be a clearer insult to Scotland and it is sticking two fingers up to devolution. The tragedy is that it would not have been beyond the competence of civil servants to transfer these powers from the EU to the Scottish Government.

"We've been treated with contempt and it's symptomatic of how when the Tories talks about taking back control, they are taking back control for themselves."

In response to the criticism from SNP politicians, a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: ""Instead of stoking up grievance, the nationalist party should be planning on what to do with the scores of new powers coming to Holyrood."

A UK Government spokesman said: “The vast majority of powers coming back from the EU will go directly to the Scottish Government. A small number of powers will be held temporarily at a UK level as we develop UK wide frameworks to protect the vital UK economy and give certainty to families and businesses. We had constructive talks with the Scottish Government this week, and those discussions will continue."

THE 24 POWERS UNDER THREAT

Agricultural support

Agriculture, fertiliser regulations

Agriculture, GMO marketing and cultivation

Agriculture, organic farming

Agriculture, zootech

Animal health and traceability

Animal welfare

Chemicals regulation

Elements of reciprocal healthcare

Environmental quality, chemicals

Environmental quality, ozone depleting, substances and F-gases

Environmental quality, pesticides

Environmental quality, waste packaging and product regulations

Fisheries management and support

Food and feed safety and hygiene law

Food compositional standards

Food labelling

Hazardous substances planning

Implementation of EU Emissions Trading System

Mutual recognition of professional qualifications

Nutrition health claims, composition and labelling

Plant health, seeds and propagating material

Public procurement

Services Directive