UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has lashed out at Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over her push for a second independence referendum in Scotland.
"Any politician who wanted to hold a referendum on a topic like this, at this moment in time, is frankly mad", he was cited by The Sun as saying on Tuesday.
Jenrick also described possible Sottish independence as a "dangerous and disappointing outcome that we need to battle against".
He added that the UK is "in the middle of a very serious health situation, a pandemic" and that the country is "also seeing massive disruption to people's lives and livelihoods as a result of the economic disruption that's flowed with it".
The Tory minister was apparently referring to a recent tweet by Sturgeon, in which she commented on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's reported remarks that the Scottish Parliament was a "disaster" for Britain and that it was ex-PM Tony Blair's "biggest mistake".
"Worth bookmarking these PM comments for the next time Tories say they're not a threat to the powers of the Scottish Parliament – or, even more incredibly, that they support devolving more powers", Sturgeon tweeted on Monday, adding that the only way to protect and strengthen the Scottish Parliament "is with independence".
A Downing Street spokesperson, in turn, said in a statement that Johnson "has always supported devolution but he is at heart a unionist and he is very troubled by the rise of nationalism and separatism".
Blair's Labour government brought in devolution for Scotland in 1999, a move which specifically stipulated the setting up of a parliament in Edinburgh.
As for Jenrick's remarks, they come after Sturgeon made it clear in late 2019 that "all options" are on the table for Scotland to hold a second independence referendum.
"The question is often posed to me: 'what will you do if Boris Johnson says no?' As I've said before, I will consider all reasonable options to secure Scotland's right to self-determination", she said.
She stressed that a new referendum on leaving the UK should be held legally, announcing that she would ask Prime Minister Johnson for a transfer of powers from Parliament in a bid to hold a new vote.
The government in Holyrood has since then proposed a second referendum, which however hasn't been approved yet as Prime Minister Johnson has repeatedly opposed the idea.