text: Nicola Sturgeon to rule out Nat MPs backing Brexit deal unless Theresa May takes U-turn on axing freedom of movement
  The First Minister is to blast the UK Government's 'red line' agreed with the EU to end free movement at the start of 2021
  19 Feb 2019, 0:15
  NICOLA Sturgeon will today rule out Nat MPs backing Theresa May's Brexit deal unless the PM does a U-turn on axing freedom of movement.
  The First Minister is to dismiss any prospect of the SNP stance softening in a speech to the lower house of the French parly.
  Nicola SturgeonCredit: PA:Press Association
  She will blast the "self-defeating" UK Government's "red line" agreed with the EU to end free movement at the start of 2021.
  Ms Sturgeon — on a two-day trip to Paris — is to tell Assemblee Nationale's 73-member foreign affairs committee: "Given the existence of those red lines, I understand why the EU believes the deal agreed in November is the best which could be achieved.
  "And I appreciate that many people in France and across the EU would like the UK to just get on with it.
  Ms Sturgeon will say the move would hit particularly hard north of the border, warning: "There is a danger that our population will start to decline.
  "We could face workforce shortages in rural areas, in our universities, care and health services.
  "European nationals are not only very welcome in Scotland — they are crucial to our well-being."
  The First Minister will also vow the Scottish Government will "step up" efforts to encourage EU citizens living here, including 7,000 French, to stay.
  Amid UK Government warnings Britain could crash out of the EU in under six weeks without a deal — severing trade and travel ties overnight — unless MPs back Mrs May's plan, a Scottish Tory spokesman last night blasted Ms Sturgeon's stance.
  He said: "Of course, this is a cynical and calculated move aimed at boosting the independence movement."