SNP MP John Nicolson said Scotland is the only country that hasn’t got what it wanted after the Northern Ireland Protocol was finalised as he slammed "porkies" told by the Tories about Brexit.
Speaking on the BBC’s Debate Night, the MP for Ochil and South Perthshire clashed with Tory MSP Roz McCall who claimed that Scotland was not “meeting any of the targets” to return to the EU.
Nicolson challenged this and asked McCall to “run through them”. The Tory MSP then asked the SNP MP to do the same to which he responded, “you were the one who made the charge”.
Despite interruptions from McCall, Nicolson said: “Do you remember the Tories fought the last election telling us there was an oven-ready deal.
“We are not meeting any of the targets we would need to meet…to get back into the EU” “We do meet the criteria”@theSNP’s John Nicolson disagrees with @RozMccall over an independent Scotland's ability to re-join the EU #bbcdn https://t.co/yOajIu6V8E pic.twitter.com/AiUAtVN6wx
— BBC Debate Night (@bbcdebatenight) March 1, 2023
“Well that was a porky if ever we heard a porky, yet another porky from Boris Johnson. There was no oven-ready deal.
“Of course, Roz’s party fought the independence referendum saying separate but equal, Union of equals, we heard all the slogans.”
He added that England and Wales had “got what they wanted” having voted for Brexit and that the same could now be said for Northern Ireland.
Following the agreement, Northern Ireland will now have access to the EU single market – something Rishi Sunak was keen to stress following its announcement.
Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, Stephen Flynn grilled the Prime Minister on why access to the EU single market was being “denied” to other countries if a deal had been reached for Northern Ireland.
Sunak said that the SNP’s Westminster leader was “playing politics with the situation in Northern Ireland”.
Nicolson continued: “Next time you have a Tory chapping your doors, if you see one of those endangered species campaigning round your constituency, remember they told us that it was absolutely impossible, Scotland could not be independent because we couldn’t be an EU country with a border with the UK.
“Well there’s a truck gone through that argument with this deal that the Prime Minister has just signed.
“And sadly people in England have a choice now between two hard Brexit parties. You get the Brexit party of the Tories and you get Keir Starmer’s Brexit party.
“The only way of getting back into the European Union, unlocking all the advantages for young people is by independence and rejoining the European Union. We must do it.”
