A fiery spat erupted in Parliament on Wednesday as the Brexit Secretary appeared to lose his temper at a critical Scottish MP.
David Davis accused Joanna Cherry of “doing very well” at “reducing” his appearance at the Brexit select committee to a “political rammy” for the SNP.
The two sparred when Cherry asked Davis whether he would publicly respond to the Scottish Government’s White Paper on Brexit, which was published in December.
The document, authored by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her cabinet, said Scotland was determined to remain in the Single Market - a measure Prime Minister Theresa May has since vetoed.
Pushed to issue a written reply, Davis said on Wednesday that he had “already discussed” the issues raised with the Scottish government.
He asked: “You want a piece of paper?
“What we’re about is a substantive interest for the people of Scotland, not political point-scoring of the SNP, which is what you seem to try to reduce this process to, which is really rather sad for the people of Scotland.”
Cherry replied firmly that she did not want to “reduce this to a political rammy”, much to the laughter and gentle jeers of other MPs and spectators watching the committee.
Davis chided back:
“Well you’re doing very well so far."”
- David Davis
Undeterred, Cherry responded: “Whether you like it or not, the Scottish Government was elected on 46.5% of the vote at the last election in Scotland and has produced a White Paper.
“I am simply asking you whether your Governments will do the Scottish and Welsh Governments the courtesy of producing a written response.
“Not whether you agree with it, I’m sure there are many parts you disagree with - and I’d be very interested to know why.
“But I’m not talking about me, I’m talking about the people of Scotland. Will they be favoured with a written response to the detailed White Paper produced by their government?”
Davis replied simply that the Scottish government had “already had a detailed response”.