Former UK Liberal Leader 'Totally Opposed' to Scotland-England Border Controls

Lord David Steel of Aikwood, who led the Liberals for 12 years, told Sputnik he was "totally opposed" to any border controls between England and Scotland which might be created because of Brexit.

EDINBURGH (Sputnik) — Former UK leader of the Liberal Democrats, Lord David Steel of Aikwood, told Sputnik on Tuesday that he was "totally opposed" to any post-Brexit future that establishes a border between Scotland and England.

"I am totally opposed to any future which involves creating border controls of any kind – and so are most people in Scotland," Lord Steel, who led the Liberals for 12 years, said, adding that "Brexit negotiations are unknowable at this stage."

The Liberal peer's comments come after Scottish National Party (SNP) senior lawmaker Tommy Sheppard told Sputnik on Monday that border controls between Scotland and England were inevitable if Scotland remained in the European Union and the rest of the United Kingdom exited the bloc.

The SNP, the governing party in Scotland, have committed themselves to negotiating a deal that would retain EU membership north of what is presently an administrative border between Scotland and England, with no frontier checks.

There have been no border controls between Scotland and England since 1707 when the two nations came together to form the United Kingdom.

In September 2014, Scottish voters rejected independence from the United Kingdom by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.

During the June 23 UK-wide referendum on EU membership, 62 percent of Scottish voters backed remaining inside the European Union, but 52 percent of all British voters backed Brexit.