UK Government claims that Scotland is on course to receive 111 extra powers after Brexit are “lies”, the Constitutional Secretary has warned.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Michael Russell said a Downing Street press release claiming more than 100 responsibilities will lie with Holyrood after the transition period ends is “one of the most shocking pieces of dishonesty I’ve seen from a government”.

It comes as the UK Government prepares to publish a white paper outlining details of legislation to underpin the "internal market" in Britain.

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Details of the prospective Bill were announced last night in a press release sent out by Business Secretary Alok Sharma. 

Asked about the Tory minister’s claim that swathes of new powers would come to Holyrood, Russell told the BBC: “Yeah well I have to say it’s not true.

“I have to say I heard Alok Sharma, he didn’t seem to have a very firm grasp of this. The list of powers that is being issued by the UK Government is a press release and I haven’t seen the full document of course yet – but the list of powers is just dishonest. It’s one of the most shocking pieces of dishonesty I’ve seen from a government.

“Let me explain what’s in it because the actual fact, what it pretends to say, isn’t true. It’s a mish-mash of things the Scottish Parliament already has, things they’ve already decided we won’t have because of the frameworks, and things that could be automatically overridden by the decision of the UK to take a power away. If you look at what we have you just have to, I’ve got the list here, you just have to glance through it.”

Russell gave several examples: “Animal welfare – we actually passed a bill in the Scottish Parliament on that last month. Food standards? Well we set up a food standards body in 2015.”

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The Constitution Secretary said the new powers are a “lie” and described the list as a “misrepresentation” which “nobody should be fooled” by.

The presenter pushed Russell to explain why standards are important to the Scottish Government.

He then told the programme: “What we are saying is the Scottish Government has a responsibility for the nation’s health, if it decides that by a democratic process that it should have food standards that are high, should for example conform with European standards because the UK, England, will cut those standards, the current Tory Government will cut those standards no matter what it says, then of course we have that right now and we should not lose that right. Because that’s actually about the health of the nation.”

The host told the minister that Sharma had insisted standards would not be lowered after Brexit.

Russell then replied: “Well he was not telling you the truth.”

The UK Government has said Brexit will mean new powers for MSPs on public procurement, air quality, maritime legislation, energy efficiency and water quality.