A TORY MP has been accused of “an exercise in pointless verbal gymnastics” after saying Nicola Sturgeon was “completely wrong” to be pushing for another independence referendum.
Andrew Bowie said the debate over Scotland’s future had become “incredibly depressing” and insisted the First Minister’s target of holding a vote had become a distraction from other "pressing" matters.
He also argued a perception Scotland was almost unanimously in favour of remaining in the European Union was “wrong”.
But the SNP’s constitution co-ordinator, Stewart Hosie, said the Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine MP was "clutching at straws" to try and deny Scots their right to choose their own future.
Hosie said: "Andrew Bowie is condemned by his own words - Scotland did vote to remain part of the EU. Everything else he said is an exercise in pointless verbal gymnastics, clutching at any passing straw to deny Scotland's right to choose its own future.
"It's clear that the Tories are running scared, which is why they are trying block the cast-iron democratic mandate that exists for an independence referendum.
“Scotland is facing a Tory-made cost of living crisis, which is being exasperated by Brexit and the Tories move to drag Scotland out of the EU against our will.
“Independence offers hope for a better future, one in which Scotland will not have to put up with the broken, corrupt Westminster system which gives us Tory governments led by the likes of Boris Johnson.”
Bowie has recently become a vocal critic of Boris Johnson, voting against him in a confidence vote last week before breaking ranks to criticise "entitlement" within the party.
He told GB News: “For the First Minister to say that because of Brexit, Scotland needs to have another say on whether or not to stay a part of the United Kingdom, I think, is just completely wrong.
“The white paper that the SNP produced ahead of the last referendum said that there was a chance that there would be a referendum on Europe, should the Conservatives get a majority in the 2015 election, so it was always, sort of, tied in that there may be a referendum on Europe.
“The UK as a whole took a decision to leave the EU and if you believe in democracy and you believe that the results of referenda should be implemented, ultimately, you have to believe that on a whole UK referendum, you had to implement Brexit.
“I understand if Scotland was taken as a separate entity from the rest of the United Kingdom and the Scottish result was looked at exclusively, then Scotland voted to remain in the EU.
“But it wasn’t as an exclusive Scotland referendum. So, to just paint Scotland as being of one opinion on this, I think, is completely wrong.
"It’s incredibly depressing, because there are so many other issues that we could be talking about, and we’re not.
"What we should be doing now is trying to make Brexit work and actually trying to deal with the fundamental issues that are causing problems in Scotland right now: education, health, transport infrastructure, all the rest of it.
"That's what I think the First Minister should be talking about and tackling, and not, frankly, a distraction that allows her to talk about something which isn’t pressing on the minds of Scots."
Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer said Bowie's remarks were "insulting".
He added: "More votes were cast and MSPs elected last year for the two parties committed to holding an independence referendum than for the three opposed to one.
"By any normal standard that is the measurement of who has won an election and has a mandate to deliver their manifesto. To seek to deny that because Andrew Bowie thinks voters were wrong is as undemocratic as it is insulting.
"The Tories might believe it's fine for Scotland to be ruled by a corrupt Prime Minister we didn't vote for, and suffer the catastrophic economic and social cost of a Brexit the vast majority opposed.
"But to the rest of us it demonstrates that if we want Scotland to be the fairer, greener country we know it can be, we need the decisions that impact Scotland to be made in Scotland. And the only way to achieve that is with independence."
