Drew Hendry suspended from Commons after refusing to sit down and stop shouting during Brexit debate

Drew Hendry, the SNP’s business spokesman, was suspended from the House of Commons on Wednesday after refusing to sit down and stop shouting during a Brexit debate.

Hendry shouted “this is an outrage” as proceedings on the UK Internal Market Bill came to a conclusion following a lengthy parliamentary battle in recent weeks.

Deputy Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton told Mr Hendry to resume his seat but the MP refused before proceeding to pick up the parliamentary mace and walk towards the door of the chamber.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was stopped by the doorkeepers, who took the mace from him.

Drew Hendry (picture Alamy)Drew Hendry (picture Alamy)
Drew Hendry (picture Alamy)

MPs could be heard describing Mr Hendry’s actions as “outrageous” and referring to it as “another boring stunt”.

Dame Rosie remarked that it was “very childish”, before undertaking the formal procedure of “naming” Mr Hendry in order to suspend him from the House for the day’s sitting.

The mace is the symbol of royal authority and without it neither House can meet or pass laws.

The SNP’s Mike Russell, the Constitution Secretary for the Scottish Government, praised Mr Hendry for “speaking truth to power”.

He wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to him.

“The Bill is undemocratic and undermines the rights of all Scottish & Welsh citizens. Legislative consent has been rejected by @ScotParl & @SeneddWales.

“The Tory UK Government should have withdrawn it.”

The Bill sets out how trade within the UK will operate post-Brexit, but critics feared the legislation in its original form represented a power grab by Westminster at the expense of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Following a number of defeats by the House of Lords and extensive debate and negotiations, the Government had a rethink and made changes that will allow the devolved administrations agreed divergence from internal market rules through so-called common frameworks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

During the earlier debate, as MPs discussed the concessions before signing off the Bill, Mr Hendry warned: “The only reason for this Bill as it now stands is to demolish devolution.

“If the Government takes this Bill forward today, as they obviously will, that is what they will be doing.”

He added: “People in Scotland when they see the effects of this Bill will be angry about the fact that their rights are being taken away by these Tory ministers aided by their Labour bedfellows."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.