THURSDAY'S FMQs reminded me of an episode of Would I Lie To You? as Douglas Ross and Humza Yousaf each shouted very loudly in a bid to convince the chamber that they were the leader in full possession of the facts.
Douglas Ross kicked things off by asking the First Minister about Police Scotland’s roll-out of body worn cameras for officers.
He said the force had now admitted that they couldn’t guarantee they would be rolled out next year.
In response, the First Minister read out a statement from deputy chief officer David Page saying they will continue to roll-out body worn cameras as planned.
He went on to say that the police budget had increased by 6.3% and that officers deserved credit for the fact that last year saw "one of the lowest crime rates in Scotland for over 50 years".
"The evidence is very clear that next year they will not be fully rolled out," replied Douglas Ross.
"Police Scotland now say they can’t guarantee it because there is a £300m black hole in the capital budget."
"If this really is a priority for Humza Yousaf, will he now treat it like one?" he asked.
The First Minister has obviously seen the BBC quiz show Would I Lie to You before, so he knows that the panellists that perform best are the ones who aren’t afraid to turn up the decibels a few notches when making their case.
"Let’s deal with the FACTS," he told Douglas Ross.
"The fact is, the UK Government has cut our capital budget by over 6.5%. The Scottish Government has increased our police budget by over £80m this year – FACT."
But the First Minister wasn’t finished there. He went on to issue the fabled double-fact.
"The FACT of the matter is,’’ he said, "we have more police officers per head in Scotland than England – FACT."
In a move that absolutely nobody asked for, Douglas Ross then picked up the fact-fest baton and ran with it, shouting his reply to the First Minister that there is a £300m black hole in Police Scotland’s capital budget – FACT – officer numbers in Scotland are at their lowest level in 14 years – FACT.
You get the drift.
He said that without further funding, 2000 police officers could be let go in the next five years.
In response, the First Minister said that he would engage with all parties around the budget.
"But what Douglas Ross CANNOT do is demand more money is spent and at the same time demand that we cut taxes."
"That is simply not a credible position," he concluded.
Clearly of the belief that he had won the FACT WAR, Douglas Ross then accused the First Minister of "getting angry".
The First Minister leaned in to this accusation and ended the question and answer session with the Scottish Tory leader on a decidedly fiery note.
"Has Douglas Ross ever asked himself why a real-terms increase was difficult this year? Of course it was difficult, because inflation is sky high. Inflation is sky high because of his party’s complete economic mismanagement of the public finances," he shot back.
"It was Douglas Ross that stood here a year ago and demanded that the Scottish Government copy Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget. If we had done that, we wouldn’t have money to spend on our police service or other public services. Thank goodness that Douglas Ross is nowhere near the public finances of Scotland."
