Referendum faces long legal battle – Wallace

A REFERENDUM held without a transfer of powers from London to Edinburgh would inevitably be bogged down in a lengthy legal dispute and be declared illegal, the UK government’s top Scottish law officer will warn in a speech this evening.

Lord Wallace, the Advocate General, will use a lecture to say that recent case law would make it even easier for people to take action if the SNP government pressed ahead with a referendum without UK powers being devolved to Edinburgh.

But the SNP insisted last night First Minister Alex Salmond remained “entirely confident” he had the legal powers to hold a “consultative referendum”, asking for peoples’ views.

The dispute is central to the jostling under way between London and Edinburgh as both administrations seek to hold sway on the crucial wording and framing of the referendum. Lord Wallace will say: “If, as the law currently stands, the Scottish Government were to proceed with this legislation, it would be open to challenge in the courts.

“It is the view of the UK government that such a challenge is likely to be successful.”

Such a challenge, which could be initiated first in the Court of Session, could “invalidate the outcome of the referendum, it would cause delay, and it could stop any referendum from happening in the first place” he will warn.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: “The UK government has published its opinion, not its legal advice. We are entirely confident about our legal basis to hold a consultative referendum.”