SCOTTISH Labour have demanded Scotland’s top law officer appear before parliament to answer questions about the Government’s indyref2 route map.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has delivered the Scottish Government’s independence referendum bill to the Supreme Court for legal scrutiny, which will trigger a legal battle between Westminster and Nicola Sturgeon’s administration.
But Scottish Labour claim her views on the legality of the bill are in question and are asking for her to appear before MSPs in an eleventh-hour intervention before parliament closes for summer recess on Thursday afternoon.
In a letter to the Lord Advocate, Scottish Labour’s business manager Neil Bibby said: “There are number of questions members wish to ask on behalf of our constituents about the legal process that the First Minister has asked you to pursue.”
Sturgeon yesterday refused to divulge the Lord Advocate’s opinion on the bill in the face of suggestions from Labour MSP Daniel Johnson she may view it as outwith the limits of parliament’s competence as set by Westminster.
Bibby acknowledged Bain’s role as an “independent law officer” but added: “Yesterday’s statement left the big questions unanswered, with the First Minister refusing time and time again to give any real clarity.”
He said: “Since the Supreme Court haven’t started considering this case, sub judice rules do not apply and there is therefore nothing to stop the Lord Advocate coming before parliament and answering our questions.
“The SNP government can always find parliamentary time for their announcements, but when it suits them they hide behind procedure to avoid accountability.
“The Scottish Parliament is not Nicola Sturgeon’s soapbox – the SNP must support our attempts to deliver proper scrutiny and oversight of their decisions.”
Sturgeon announced on Wednesday the route map to indyref2, firing the starting gun on the race for a second poll on Scotland’s future.
The bill, published to coincide with her statement, will now be considered by Supreme Court judges to determine whether it is legal.
If it is found to be outside the powers of Holyrood, Sturgeon said it would prove the Union was not “voluntary” by derailing the Scottish Government’s plan for a vote on October 19, 2023.
Should judges find it outside parliament’s powers, the SNP have pledged to fight the next UK general election on the sole issue of independence, saying that achieving a majority of pro-independence votes would constitute a mandate for a second referendum.
The First Minister has emphasised the need for a legal referendum and hopes the Supreme Court's ruling will take questions around the legality of a second vote out of the political sphere.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister has fully set out in a statement to parliament the Lord Advocate’s reasons for making the reference to the Supreme Court.
“The substantive issues in the reference are now before the Supreme Court, and, regardless of the precise application of the standing orders, the Court should be allowed to fulfil its function without political discussion of the merits.”
