The UK government has "form" in this area. In 2008/2009 they put an entire European nation on a blacklist alongside Al Qaeda, etc. as undesirables/untouchables. This accelerated the collapse of that country's financial institutions and did nothing to divert attention from the troubles British banks and the British government's faced - UK banks collapsed as well.
The UK, along with the Netherlands then proceeded to intimidate the other country and used their influence to obstruct access to IMF and other assistance while insisting on dictating terms for "compensation" from the smaller country for losses in the collapse. The terms were rejected in a referendum over there and the UK and Netherlands governments took the other country to an international tribunal/court. The court found in favour of the underdog and criticised not just the UK and Netherlands governments for bullying, but also the IMF and others. To my knowledge there was little or no mention of this in the UK media and the whole thing has now sunk without a trace, although UK investors such as local authorities have recovered almost all their money through due process and the executors in the other country.
The target/victim in the story is Iceland. What we are witnessing is a sad and crumbling has-been that does not accept reality and tries desperately to remain one of the big boys (the process has many names, one of which involves kissing/licking). Maybe Scotland will next year vote to remain part of it or maybe Scotland will decide that it actually has nothing to gain from UK "togetherness" of this or any other sort.