Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 January 2018.
The key aspects of the evidence are clearly inconvenient for Ruth Davidson. As I said earlier, Andrew Flanagan clearly said that he had not been requested by the justice secretary to change his decision and that he was not directed to do so. Questions were asked and, as I said last week—I repeat it today—I absolutely take the view that the justice secretary was right to ask those questions.
I again invite Ruth Davidson to address this point. If she does not take the view that a decision to invite the chief constable to return to work without asking the PIRC whether that would compromise an on-going investigation, without telling the acting chief constable and the rest of the senior command, and without putting in place any plan for the welfare of officers who had raised concerns and made complaints would be a defective one, is it her position that it would have been a good decision and that the chief constable should have returned to work the following day?
I think that it was right to ask those questions, and I again put it to members and the Scottish people that, if the justice secretary had not asked any of those questions and the chief constable had turned up to report for work at Tulliallan the next morning, Ruth Davidson and other Opposition leaders would have come to the chamber and demanded statements, and no doubt demanded that the justice secretary consider his position. There is rank hypocrisy at play, and everybody can see it.