Nicola Sturgeon would accept Scotland equivalent of Northern Ireland protocol 'in a heartbeat'

Nicola Sturgeon has claimed she would accept a similar deal for Scotland to the Northern Ireland Protocol “in a heartbeat” as she denied Scotland’s NHS and education system were playing “second fiddle” to a second independence referendum.

The SNP leader claimed at First Minister’s Questions the “at risk” Protocol was benefiting Northern Ireland, with her statement coming as the UK Government has been defending its plans to scrap parts of the Brexit deal negotiated with the European Union.

Asked about the potential risks to Scotland’s economy if the UK Government overrides the Northern Ireland Protocol, Ms Sturgeon said the scenario risks a “hugely damaging” trade war.

Ms Sturgeon went on to say she would warmly welcome a protocol for Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would accept a similar deal to the Northern Ireland protocol for Scotland “in a heartbeat”(Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire).

She said: “As First Minister of Scotland, if I could get a protocol that would allow Scotland to continue to trade freely across the single market, I’d take that in a heartbeat, so that is the reality.

“The Northern Ireland Protocol was negotiated and signed by this UK Government. It is also a protocol right now that is benefiting Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland’s economy right now is doing better than the economies of the other countries in the UK. “

The protocol, part of international law, is special trading arrangements in place between the UK and the Northern Ireland agreed after the UK voted for Brexit in 2016.

Responding to a question posed by Green MSP Maggie Chapman on the potential risk to Scotland if the deal was scrapped, Ms Sturgeon said: “The UK Government is risking sanctions like targeted tariffs that would deeply harm Scottish businesses who are already dealing with an uncertain and unnecessarily bureaucratic environment thanks to Brexit.

“We have a government that is showing no respect for the international rule of law, for the basis norms of our democracy.”

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs on Thursday it is “very likely” that if the protocol is scrapped, it will impact a “range of important issues” such as access for scientists and researchers to the EU’s Horizon programme.

Ms Sturgeon went on to quote Lord Geidt, who recently resigned as ethics adviser, claiming she did not know “if he was referring to the Northern Ireland Protocol, but he may be”.

In a letter, Lord Geidt said this week he was “tasked to offer a view about the Government’s intention to consider measures which risk a deliberate and purposeful breach of the ministerial code”.