APPALLING comments from Prime Minister Theresa May have revealed that she privately shares in fears that Brexit will economically damage the UK and its member nations.

This comes as she has vigorously pursued a hard Brexit stance in her post as Prime Minister, and has failed to come forward with any clear plan for the UK’s negotiations with EU.

In a speech given to Goldman Sachs, she can be heard saying: “If we were not in Europe, I think there would be firms and companies who would be looking to say, do they need to develop a mainland Europe presence rather than a UK presence? So I think there are definite benefits for us in economic terms.”

Clearly the Prime Minister agrees with the Scottish Government’s assessment that an exit from the single market would lead to massive job losses and to businesses leaving.

I was, however, pleased to see actions taken by the Scottish Government last week to pardon men convicted of same-sex offences before laws against homosexuality were done away with. I welcomed the statement from Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, in which he announced that: “We will introduce an automatic formal pardon for those convicted under these discriminatory laws so they know they are absolved fully. We want to address the injustice that people experienced simply because of their sexual orientation in circumstances that are now legal.”

I add my voice to Mr Matheson’s in calling for this pardon to go forward immediately, and hope that Westminster will decide to follow suit soon. Unfortunately, a similar bill introduced at Westminster last week was quashed by Tory Justice Minister Sam Gyimah.

This week I took the opportunity to visit Beyond Boundaries East Lothian. They aid people with disabilities and mental health issues aged 16 and over by providing opportunities for participation in outdoor activities and adventure sports on a regular basis.