Theresa May warns SNP they won’t be given new powers – as Scots leader Ruth Davidson appears to make a power-grab as they pass on stage

THERESA May has warned the SNP they won’t be given new powers after she messed up her own handover with Ruth Davidson – leading to a bizarre on-stage picture

The Prime Minister used a speech to declare that Scottish Government will not be getting control over policy areas such as fishing and agriculture in the wake of Brexit.

But the message was somewhat overshadowed by the awkward photographs that emerged after the Prime Minister was introduced in Glasgow by the Scottish Toy leader.

Once safely at the lectern, Mrs May addressed the Conservative Party's Scottish conference, she also confirmed no powers will be taken away from the ministers at Holyrood either.

But as a result of the decision to leave the European Union, responsibilities that transfer back to Britain from Brussels "must sit at the right level to ensure our United Kingdom can operate effectively".

The PM also used her speech to make clear her support for the Union, insisting it is "not simply a constitutional artefact".

Mrs May declared: "The United Kingdom we cherish is not a thing of the past, but a Union vital to our prosperity and security, today and in the future."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been demanding substantial new powers are transferred to Holyrood following Brexit.

And SNP ministers are also seeking a separate deal for Scotland which could see the country remain in the European single market even after the UK leaves.

But Mrs May made clear the UK must not become a "looser and weaker Union", adding: "We cannot allow our United Kingdom to drift apart.”

And she accused Ms Sturgeon's SNP Government of treating politics "as if it were a game", and pursuing policies "not in the best interests of Scotland but in the political interests of the SNP"

She accused nationalists of "neglect and mismanagement" of education, "abysmal failure" on farm payments, "starving the health service", and replacing stamp duty with a tax which costs home buyers more but brings in less revenue than expected.

But hitting back, SNP depute leader Angus Robertson said it “was an ironic, hypocritical and surreal speech from Theresa May”.

He said: "Theresa May is guilty of mind-boggling hypocrisy - it is her Government's constitutional obsession with a hard Brexit which is directly threatening Scottish jobs and livelihoods.

"In those circumstances, we have a duty to stand up for Scotland and to have a plan in place to protect our vital national interests. "