The SNP has claimed that reports of a leaked memo outlining a strategy to combat calls for a second independence referendum shows that the Conservatives are "in panic mode"
A leaked document seen by Bloomberg from a consultancy firm to the UK Government suggested a number of tactics to delay and counter calls for a second independence referendum.
The report calls for the EU to try and dismiss the idea of Scotland joining the bloc and highlights a lack of leadership in the "No" side in the event of a second independence referendum.
A memo seen by Bloomberg News has revealed that a consultancy firm close to the Tory party has advised UK government figures - including Michael Gove - on tactics to delay or avoid a referendum and how to placate rising support for Scottish independence.
Commenting, the SNP’s Deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald MP said: “This leaked memo reveals that the Tories are in panic mode because people in Scotland know Boris Johnson’s government can’t be trusted to act in Scotland’s interests.
“The Westminster government has launched an all-out power grab on the Scottish Parliament through its post-Brexit Internal Market Bill.
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“And Scotland faces the devastating prospect for jobs of being dragged out of the EU against our will in the middle of a global pandemic and deep recession by a Boris Johnson government we didn’t vote for, with either a bad deal or no deal outcome.
“The whole Westminster system is broken and it is time decisions about Scotland were taken by the people who live here.
“The Tory attempt to deny the right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future is completely unsustainable and undemocratic.
"Scotland’s future should be in Scotland’s hands – not Boris Johnson’s."
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