Scotland demands say on Article 50 ruling as protests mount

SCOTTISH first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said her government will get involved in the ongoing court case over the invocation of Article 50.  

Edinburgh will launch a legal objection to the British government’s appeal of the High Court’s ruling that parliament must vote on whether or not the UK leaves the EU. 

Sturgeon argues that, as Brexit would drastically impact Scotland’s devolved interests, it is only right that the country be consulted on the decision.

“triggering article 50 will inevitably deprive Scottish people and Scottish businesses of rights and freedoms which they currently enjoy,” she said.

“It simply cannot be right that those rights can be removed by the UK government on the say-so of a prime minister without parliamentary debate, scrutiny or consent.

“The prime minister said that on June 23 people across the UK had voted with, in her words, ‘emphatic clarity’ when they voted by a margin of 4 points to leave the EU.

The margin for remain in Scotland was 24 points: a far more emphatic and clear result.

So the prime minister needs to live up to her promise to treat Scotland as an equal partner in the United Kingdom and listen to the will of the people of Scotland.”

Her intervention comes as UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn questioned the wisdom of Nigel Farage’s planned ‘march on the supreme court’ in protest at the ruling. O’Flynn wrote on Twitter that the correct target of leave voters’ fury should be the parliamentarians who “gave the decision to the people and now want to mess with it.”