Scottish National Party MPs walked out en masse from the UK parliament after their leader was ordered to leave the House of Commons in a row over Brexit.
ADVERTISEMENTLawmakers from the Scottish National Party walked out of UK parliament on Wednesday, following a row sparked by the Brexit withdrawal bill.
The dramatic exit was fuelled by the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who was thrown out of the chamber by the Commons Speaker after he refused to sit down.
Blackford refused to take his seat unless he could demand a new debate on Scotland and Brexit. After a brief standoff between the Speaker and Blackford, some 30 remaining SNP lawmakers then marched out of the chamber, sarcastically chanting "bye."
In a video on Twitter, SNP MP Hannah Bardell said: "Scotland can't continue to be disrespected this way by Westminister."
Brexit tensions mounting in Scotland
The SNP has become aggravated after British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to push through Brexit legislation that would affect Scotland.
The measures do not have the consent of Holyrood, the devolved Scottish parliament, and would affect Scotland's agriculture and fisheries.
The SNP leader said his refusal to sit down was in protest of a "power grab" in the EU withdrawal bill, which will take around 12,000 pieces of existing EU regulation and transfer them onto the UK's law books.
Blackford told the BBC "let's be under no illusion — this is a constitutional crisis."
The SNP's political opponents described the move as a gimmick.
Questioned on whether the walkout was a stunt, Blackford said: “Under standing orders, I was entitled to push for that vote today on the basis of the lack of respect that the Conservative government and Theresa May have shown. It is not acceptable."
"We are giving message to the government that we will take them on, we are not prepared to sit back and see powers taken from the Scottish parliament."