THERESA May has ordered a review of devolution in a “desperate act” in her final days as Prime Minister but what do we know about it so far? 

The review will be launched on on Thursday on the eve of a Tory leadership hustings

May’s speech will be delivered one day before Johnson and Hunt are questioned by Scottish Conservative members at a hustings in Perth on Friday.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon slams Theresa May for ordering devolution 'review'

It will be May's last visit to Scotland as Prime Minister.


The campaigns of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are said to be furious with the revelation​
Hunt has already pronounced that he would support the Union with "every drop of blood in my veins".

At Tuesday’s Belfast hustings, when talk was of the backstop and borders, Johnson declared the “Union comes first" and was “absolutely inviolable”.

Both men have committed to introducing a Union Unit in No 10 to better co-ordinate the Unionist message across Government.

The review is expected to be led by former Scotland Office minister Andrew Dunlop
Dunlop will consider ways to make sure the UK government is successfully making the case for maintaining the union.

Dunlop, who received life peerage in 2015,helped devise the Poll Tax (which was tested on Scotland first) and David Cameron's advisor for the independence referendum in 2014.

May has denied the review is happening
At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford pressed May on the issue, saying she is "running scared of the people of Scotland".

But the outgoing PM denied the Government is holding a devolution review at all.

WATCH: Blackford hits out at May as she denies devolution 'review'

That's despite Lord Dunlop, the former Scotland Office minister, confirming he's chairing the review on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland on Wednesday

He said: “Time and time again I’ve listened to the First Minister saying that the UK Government isn’t working for Scotland. The UK Government is working for Scotland and it wants to make sure that it is working as best as it can, hence this review – a simple straightforward way of making sure devolution is working as best as it can be.”

He added: “What we’re trying to do now is make sure the governments of Scotland work in Scotland’s best interests.

“The important thing here is the union is at the heart of this government, it believes passionately in that union and it wants to make sure that the governments of Scotland work together.”


The new review will begin when the next Prime Minister is in place
Lord Dunlop will be asked to recommend improvements to the system in light of the UK’s imminent departure from the EU.

The peer, who will be supported by a small group of civil servants, will report back in the autumn to the winner of the battle between Johnson and Hunt.


The announcement of the review was delayed
May had intended to announce the initiative at a Cabinet meeting yesterday as she works on legacy projects to mark her three years in Downing Street.

However, the meeting was postponed because the Prime Minister was forced to remain in Brussels longer than expected as EU leaders wrangled over their choice of senior posts in the European Commission. It is now expected to be held next Tuesday.


The Tories are trying to 'strengthen the Union' in other ways too
Other signs of strengthening the Union are the UK Government’s new hub in Edinburgh, including a dedicated room to enable the UK Cabinet to hold some of its meetings there, and a push for more direct Whitehall funding of Scottish projects in devolved areas; denounced as a “power-grab” by Edinburgh.


It seems no one has told the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

SNP MP Patrick Grady asked whether Karen Bradley had been informed about the devolution review.

It is unclear whether she was as she simply responded: "I don't comment on leaked briefings."