SCOTLAND must become independent if it is to avoid Boris Johnson's "extreme Brexit disaster", the SNP have said after the EU announced it was taking legal action against the UK Government.
Ian Blackford, the party's Westminster leader, made the point as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, revealed this the court challenge to the Prime Minister's bid to override the withdrawal agreement treaty he signed with Brussels.
"Boris Johnson is taking the UK towards an extreme Brexit disaster and total humiliation - ruining our international reputation and threatening the economy with the hardest of Brexits," said Blackford.
READ MORE: Brexit: EU launches court action against Boris Johnson's government
"The Prime Minister has shown he is arrogant, reckless and completely untrustworthy. There is now little doubt that the UK is heading towards a low deal or no deal Brexit, either of which would be devastating for jobs, living standards, businesses and the economy.
"Worse still, this extreme Tory Brexit hammer blow will come at the worst possible time - hitting the UK in the middle of a global pandemic when many businesses are already struggling to survive.
"Scotland has been completely ignored by Westminster throughout the Brexit process. It is now beyond doubt that the only way to protect Scotland's interests and our place in Europe is to become an independent country."
EU has launched the action against after Johnson failed to respond to the Commission's demand he drop legislation that would overwrite the withdrawal agreement and break international law.
Von der Leyen, the European commission president, announced that the UK had been put on formal notice over the Internal Market Bill tabled by the Prime Minister last month.
Brussels had given Johnson until the end of September to ditch the contentious clauses in the draft legislation, and Von der Leyen said the deadline had lapsed.
By seeking to unilaterally change the terms of the agreement signed last year with Brussels, the UK had failed to live up to its obligations to act in “good faith”, Von der Leyen said.
The former German defence minister said the UK now had a month to respond to the commission’s letter of notice, which marks the beginning of a formal infringement process.
“We had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft internal market bill, by the end of September,” she said. “This draft bill is, by its very nature, a breach of the obligation of good faith, laid down in the withdrawal agreement. Moreover, if adopted as is, it will be in full contradiction to the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
She added: ”The problematic provisions have not been removed. Therefore this morning the commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure.”
The internal market bill would give ministers legal powers to override two elements of the Northern Ireland protocol, which Johnson agreed last October in order to avoid a return to a hard border in Ireland.
Ministers would decide whether to notify the commission of any government subsidy decisions that could affect goods trade in Northern Ireland and whether to waive the need for export summary declarations when sending goods from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
The two sides are examining these issues in a joint committee but the UK government has said it needs the legislation as a “safety net” should the EU act unreasonably.
The commission’s letter is the start of a lengthy process that could ultimately end in the European court of justice. The EU court in Luxembourg could impose huge daily fines for continued breaches.
The UK agreed to be bound by decisions of the court on cases begun before the end of the transition period on December 31 and for four years after that point.
A UK Government spokesman said: “We will respond to the letter in due course. We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures related to the Northern Ireland protocol. We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK’s internal market, ensure ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.”
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