I asked whose mess the SNP was cleaning up—the answer is that it was clearing up its own mess from the past 17 years. The fact is that, in Scotland, the justice system has been independent for ever and the SNP has been in charge of it for 17 years. The emergency legislation is a desperate attempt to tackle the symptoms of a crisis that was created by the SNP.

On John Swinney’s watch, we have Scotland’s prisons at breaking point, our prison estate crumbling, soaring levels of remand, deep cuts to legal aid, a staffing crisis in our courts and huge court backlogs. Warning after warning has been ignored from the chief inspector of prisons, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Community Justice Scotland, Victim Support Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service. Why does John Swinney think that, after 17 years of failure, the answer is to give more power through emergency legislation to the incompetent SNP Government that has failed to manage and reform our criminal justice system?