A former Conservative minister and prominent Brexiteer has said creating a hard border between Scotland and England would be “impossible to enforce”.
Dominic Raab, a member of the Commons committee for Exiting the EU, appeared to give a boost to Scottish Government arguments that trade and people would continue to flow across Britain even if Scotland had different arrangements to the rest of the UK.
But the MP for Esher and Walton lashed out at plans to keep Scotland in the single market while the rest of the UK rescinds its membership as not being “very credible”.
Asked about hard borders on the BBC’s Hard Talk programme, Mr Raab said: “With Scotland it would be I think wrong as a matter of principle and impossible to enforce.
“In terms of Ireland, we have got the Common Travel Area. Various arrangements existed even before we were members of the EC, as it then was.
“And of course there’s going to be strong bilateral relations to make sure we don’t undermine taking back control of immigration policy but without putting up a hard border.
“We will have to have sensible, mutual arrangements which respect both sides of that debate.
“Now we had that debate before we entered the EU so I don’t think it’s beyond the wit of man or woman to come up with sensible arrangements but we’re not going to erect a hard border.
“We said that during the referendum campaign, the government says it now. Equally, frankly some of the stuff coming from the SNP is, I don’t think, very credible.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously said it would be possible for Scotland to have a differential deal without a hard border being put in place, citing the willingness of UK ministers to find a solution for Ireland.
Her critics point out the complexities of the Irish situation, however, and, as first revealed by The Courier, there is no appetite within the Conservative administration at Westminster to devolve immigration to Holyrood.
The SNP and UK Government have both been asked for comment.
