Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Theresa May told to stop ‘charade’ and shield jobs from a hard Brexit

Theresa May
Theresa May

Theresa May was told to “stop her charade” and dump her hard Brexit plans ahead of next week’s crucial votes in the Commons.

The Conservative leader also refused to say during Prime Minister’s Questions when her government’s detailed post-Brexit vision would be published.

Earlier, the Scottish Government slated UK minsters for a “reluctance” to meet after Holyrood withheld its consent for the EU Withdrawal Bill, the key legislation for leaving the EU.

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, referred to reports that civil servants have been drawing up scenarios for a “Doomsday Brexit”.

He said: “Supermarkets running out of food within days, hospitals running out of medicines within a fortnight, petrol reserves dwindling after just two weeks

“These are the concerns of UK Government officials.

“And now the Dutch are telling Dutch businesses not to risk buying UK products.

“Does the Prime Minister understand the catastrophic negotiating position she has cornered herself into?”

He pleaded with the PM to “stop her charade” and vote on Tuesday for the House of Lords amendments to the Withdrawal Bill, which would keep the UK in the European Economic Area and Customs Union.

Mrs May told Mr Blackford that supermarket chains north of the border believe “one of the most important things for Scotland” was to remain part of the United Kingdom.

She added: “We are committed to ensuring that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, we also want to ensure as frictionless trade as possible with the European Union and that we are able to operate our independent trade policy.

“All of those are about ensuring that we protect jobs here in the United Kingdom.”

Earlier, Jeremy Corbyn warned Mrs May’s approach to Brexit has “delivered more delays and more cancellations” than the rail system in the north of England.

He also claimed UK Government “incompetence” threatens businesses and jobs as he sought to exploit Tory divisions over Brexit, against a backdrop of splits in his own party.

Mrs May declined to be drawn on when the Government would publish its detailed post-Brexit vision in a white paper.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary Michael Russell laid into the UK Government for a “reluctance to meet” after Holyrood’s refusal last month to support the Withdrawal Bill, which transfers EU laws onto domestic statute books.

The UK and Scottish administrations are locked in dispute over where some Brussels powers will initially be housed after Brexit.

In a letter to the PM’s effective deputy David Ludington, Mr Russell said it is “particularly disappointing” the Conservative Government had not accepted an invitation to meet to “address or respect the (Scottish) Parliament’s views”.