Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:25 pm on 28 November 2002.
I hear SNP members saying that it has been a bad week for the Scottish Executive. They are correct. Unfortunately, many members of the public do not differentiate between the Executive and the Parliament and therefore what the Scottish Executive does wrong sheds poor light on the rest of the Parliament.
A minister in the First Minister's Government has made remarks that are deeply offensive to some of the most dedicated men and women in this country. Before the vote for his new appointee, I invite the First Minister unreservedly to do what has not yet been done and apologise to the firefighters and control staff of this country. He should apologise for remarks that were made by a