SNP should stop 'obsessing' over independence and trying to lock up JK Rowling, Rishi Sunak says

The comments by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed questions about independence from the SNP Westminster leader.

The SNP should stop “obsessing” over independence and trying to lock up JK Rowling, and instead focus on what matters to people in Scotland, the Prime Minister has claimed.

Rishi Sunak made the comments after being confronted on independence by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The SNP has been criticised by Harry Potter author Rowling over its hate crime law, which came into affect from April 1, as well as its approach to trans rights.

The Prime Minister criticised the SNP and accused them of trying to lock up the Harry Potter author.

Rowling on Tuesday insisted First Minister Humza Yousaf had made “his absolute contempt for women and their rights clear” in confirming trans women would be protected by new misogyny laws.

Mr Flynn, the MP for Aberdeen South, had highlighted comments made by Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Roz Foyer on independence remaining an unresolved issue.

He said: “She said ‘that can be a very dangerous place to end up in, when you are not allowing people to express their wishes in a democratic manner’.

“So may I ask the Prime Minister, does he welcome the fulsome, wholehearted, and warm support of the Labour Party in denying the people of Scotland that opportunity to have a say over their own future.”

Referencing criticism of the hate crime law in Scotland, Mr Sunak replied: “We did have a democratic vote on that topic. But what I would suggest to the SNP is that rather than obsessing about independence and indeed wasting time cracking down on free speech and trying to lock up JK Rowling, he should focus on what the people in Scotland actually care about – schools, hospitals, jobs, and our new tax cuts.”

Earlier in the session Sir Keir Starmer mocked Mr Sunak over his predecessor Liz Truss’s new book, Ten Years to Save the West.

The Labour leader said: “I am privileged to be the proud owner of a copy of the former prime minister’s new book. It is a rare unsigned copy. It is the only unsigned copy.

“It is quite the read. She claims the Tory Party’s disastrous kamikaze budget that triggered chaos for millions was – her words – ‘the happiest moment of her premiership’. Has the Prime Minister met anyone with a mortgage who agrees?”

Mr Sunak replied: “All I would say is he ought to spend a bit less time reading that book and a bit more time reading the deputy leader’s [Angela Rayner] tax advice.”

The Prime Minister’s jibe led Sir Keir to accuse the “billionaire” Prime Minister of “smearing a working-class woman” as the pair clashed in the Commons.

Ms Rayner has faced scrutiny about whether she paid the right amount of tax on the 2015 sale of her Stockport council house because of confusion over whether it was her principal residence.

The Labour MP has said she will “do the right thing and step down” if she is found to have committed a crime in relation to her living situation a decade ago but remains confident she has followed the law at all times.

Mr Sunak also took aim at his predecessor Ms Truss as he told MPs he had the “conviction” to say her economic policies were “wrong”.