Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 January 2018.
1. Last week, I asked the First Minister about the Cabinet Secretary for Justice’s involvement in the decision to prevent the chief constable from returning to work. She said nine times that all Michael Matheson did was ask questions of the Scottish Police Authority’s decision. However, in evidence this morning to the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee, the former chair of the SPA revealed that Mr Matheson’s involvement went far beyond that. He said that, in their private meeting, the justice secretary told him that the SPA had made a bad decision. Which version of events is true?