by Rab Bruce’s Spider

The news that another petition has been lodged with the Court of Session which may result in a Scottish Court formally writing to the EU to request an extension of the Brexit deadline if Boris Johnson fails to do so is quite astonishing. Whether it succeeds or not remains doubtful because it relies on an almost unprecedented intervention by the Scottish Courts.

Of course, some sort of fallback should have been incorporated in the original Bill proposed by Hilary Benn. The fact that his new law relies upon the Prime Minister obeying the law was a fundamental weakness. There was no provision made for his refusal to do so, nor any penalty defined if he failed to comply.

But, given the reaction from Unionists and English Nationalists on social media when the Court of session ruled that proroguing Parliament was illegal, can you imagine how they will respond if a Scottish Court takes upon itself the duty of ensuring that the law is obeyed by doing what the Prime Minister refuses to do? The clamours for Scottish independence will be deafening, and most will come from south of the Border.