Piers Morgan exposes huge ‘conundrum’ at core of Ian Blackford’s independence demands

The SNP Westminster Leader, Ian Blackford, spoke to ITV’s Good Morning Britain about his party’s manifesto launch. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has once again reiterated that they want to hold a second independence referendum next year. GMB host Piers Morgan stunned Mr Blackford when he argued that an independent Scotland would need a “hard border” with England, which is “exactly the same conundrum that we have in Ireland”.

Mr Morgan said: “The key problem with Brexit, according to the Remainers, has been this issue of a hard border in Ireland. What do you do if one part of Ireland is in the EU and one isn’t? Everyone agrees there has to be some kind of border somewhere.

“You seem to think that that’s the case for Ireland, but it’s a completely different kettle of fish if you were to be independent in Scotland?

“If you’re going to have a separate entity as part of the EU as you want, you’ve got to have a border with England.

“Where would that border go? How does it manifest itself? How do you avoid a hard border? It’s exactly the same conundrum that we have in Ireland, surely.”

The SNP MP replied: “Well, first and foremost, I think everyone respects the important of delivering peace in Northern Ireland and the important of the Good Friday Agreement.

“But let me say, Piers, that things have moved on.

“I don’t think the UK Government has understood the importance of technology changes that are there both on hardware and software that would allow for the movement of goods across border without having infrastructure at the border that exists.”

GMB co-host Susanna Reid then asked if these “technology changes” could also apply to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Blackford said: “There are technological advances that are there that we know about, that people have spoken to the UK Government about.

“They’ve certainly spoken to us. It can work, there are ways this can be dealt with that negates the need for that infrastructure.

“This, I accept, is a very emotive subject, but I think we’ve actually got to look at the solutions for this rather than putting these barriers up which are not necessary in the modern world.”

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The Irish border has been a huge issue throughout Brexit negotiations.

If the UK leaves the EU while the Republic of Ireland remains in it, then goods travelling between the two areas would require some sort of checks.

There are fears that a hard border could jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement, which helped bring The Troubles to an end.

The SNP have been clear in their aim to stop Brexit altogether, and conduct another independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon said: “A vote for the SNP is a vote to escape Brexit, It is a vote to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands, and it is a vote to deprive Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party of a majority.”

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