A Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) lodged by Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell raises concerns over the content of the bill, its implementation and the lack of opportunity for detailed parliamentary scrutiny in either the UK or Scottish parliaments.

The government has requested a recall of Holyrood on Thursday to enable Parliament to decide whether or not to consent to the bill, if Westminster adopts the UK government’s proposed legislative timetable.

Mr Russell has described the UK government’s approach to the passage of the bill as “irresponsible and disrespectful of the legislatures of these islands and the devolution settlements”.

In a letter to the UK government, he added: “It is essential that [the bill] should receive scrutiny in all of the UK’s legislatures, that there should be the proper opportunity for civil society to consider it and for citizens to understand its meaning and significance, and for all constitutional conventions, including the Sewel Convention, to be respected during its passage.”