Independence ‘would mean mass immigration’

Published on 24/03/2012 00:57

HOME Secretary Theresa May will claim today that independence would leave Scotland open to mass immigration, when she addresses delegates at the Scottish Conservative conference.

The claim, which drew an angry response from the SNP, will be made on the final day of the Troon event, which will also see new Scottish leader Ruth Davidson’s first address to conference.

Ms May is expected to criticise the SNP, saying: “The Scottish Nationalist Party is not made up of nationalists. Nor should we see them as patriots. They are separatists.

“Separatists like Alex Salmond want to duck the tough questions. He calls himself a social democrat, yet he fails to deal with the many issues for democracy that arise from being a separate Scotland.

“He calls himself a progressive, but what’s progressive about breaking Scotland off from the rest of the United Kingdom then giving away powers to Europe? It completely defeats the SNP argument that Scotland would fare better with more control over its affairs when they seek to hand over so many serious areas of government elsewhere.

“And people want to know – and they have the right to know – what handing over those powers will mean.

“Joining Europe’s borderless Schengen area … will open Scotland’s border up to mass immigration.”

Last night, an SNP spokesman responded to Ms May’s remarks by saying she was “totally wrong” on the immigration issue.