Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 January 2018.
Let us cut through all of this. Last week the First Minister stood there and told the chamber nine times that her justice secretary did nothing but ask a few questions. We now know that that is not true. We know that he made it clear that the SPA’s decision was wrong. She says that Mr Matheson did not instruct the process, but we now know that the SPA’s former chair left his second meeting with the justice secretary feeling that he had no choice but to overturn the authority’s decision.
Last week, the First Minister stood there and told me that Michael Matheson did not intervene, but does the evidence this morning not show that there is a different story? Does it not make it clear that—bluntly—the justice secretary leaned on the SPA?