Nicola Sturgeon has laid into Theresa May’s refusal to guarantee EU nationals permanent residency in the UK.
The First Minister branded the Home Secretary’s stance “a disgrace” as Ms May faces an increasingly ill-tempered battle to become Prime Minister.
Her allies were accused of unleashing a “black-ops” campaign against fellow Conservative leadership contest Andrea Leadsom just hours after the SNP leader launched her attack.
Writing in the Sunday Herald, Ms Sturgeon said: “Theresa May’s insistence instead that she wants to effectively use these people as bargaining chips in the UK’s negotiation process and withdrawal from the EU is a shameful stain on her credentials and her reputation which risks doing her far, far more damage – at home and abroad – than perhaps she realises.”
Speaking on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Iain Duncan Smith, a key ally of Ms Leadsom, claimed a group of MPs were trying to “denigrate her reputation”.
It comes after supporters of Ms May stepped up their criticism of her rival, with one senior minister suggesting she could become the Tory equivalent of Jeremy Corbyn because of her lack of support in Parliament.
Employment minister Priti Patel, who campaigned for Brexit alongside Mrs Leadsom, suggested that the energy minister lacked the experience and broad appeal to win a general election.
But former Tory leader Mr Duncan Smith insisted both candidates are capable of becoming the next prime minister and called for the Conservative Party to show decency during the campaign.
Asked about reports that some MPs are prepared to quit the party if Mrs Leadsom become Prime Minister, he said: “Look, if Andrea was so unqualified to be Prime Minister, and you know we’ve had a lot of sniping, a kind of real ‘black-ops’ operation to denigrate her reputation. If she was so bad what in heaven’s sake would the Prime Minister be doing making her a serious government minister?”
The row followed Mrs Leadsom coming under fire for appearing to suggest that being a mother gave her an advantage over Ms May.
She told The Times: “Genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake.”
The Home Secretary has previously spoken about how she and husband Philip were affected by being unable to have children. Ms Leadsom claimed to be “disgusted” by the way her comments had been presented and insisted that she believed “everyone has an equal stake in our society”.
Mr Duncan Smith suggested the interview was a “stitch-up”
Former minister Baroness Warsi said she thought the comments were a “slip of the tongue” but raised concerns about Mrs Leadsom’s judgment.
Meanwhile, Ms Leadsom has now published her tax returns after previously refusing to do so.
