JOHN Swinney has torn into Reform UK's Scottish leader Malcolm Offord for "spreading racist filth" at a fiery First Minister's Questions.
Offord attempted to take Swinney to task on this week's Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results which showed Scotland falling behind England on reading, maths and science tests.
He said it is a "national emergency" that Scotland has fallen so far behind its neighbour and claimed Swinney is responsible for this "ruination".
But Swinney hit back by tearing into Offord and his fellow MSP Thomas Kerr, saying they were responsible for real "ruination" by engaging in racism.
"I'll tell Malcolm Offord what ruination looks like. It's people like him and Thomas Kerr going round spreading racist filth in our society. That's what ruination looks like," the First Minister said.
Swinney went on to defend Scottish education, insisting the Pisa results only form part of the picture.
"I accept the outcome of the Pisa assessments but the Pisa assessments are one part of the data set that looks at Scottish education.
"If we look at the achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels data, which is produced by the teachers of Scotland – who Malcolm Offord has just insulted – shows that the proportions of S3 pupils achieving third level or better in literacy and numeracy are at their highest level ever."
Swinney added that Scotland now has the highest level of young people leaving school and going to positive destinations at 93.5%, as well as record levels of young people going to university for the first time, including record numbers from deprived backgrounds.
Citing other positive statistics around the attainment gap, he said: "That is the full report card on Scottish education and I'm proud of Scottish education."
An education expert told The National this week while England can boast improved Pisa results, academisation in the country had led some schools south of the Border to become “inhospitable” for pupils with additional support needs.
“Pisa seems to suggest that [private academy trusts running schools] has resulted in an overall raising of standards but I think it’s also fair to say it has resulted in schools being allowed to do quite extreme things in terms of curriculum and behaviour and this hasn’t worked for a lot of kids," said Dr Joseph Smith of Stirling University.
Elsewhere at FMQs, Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay asked Swinney to condemn the “climate-wrecking behaviour” of the UK Government with Andy Burnham expected to grant a drilling licences for Jackdaw and Rosebank.
She said after a “summer of climate breakdown” this would be “sheer climate vandalism” and highlighted how the Scottish Government used to have a presumption against new oil and gas fields.
She asked Swinney if he thinks new gas licences will make the climate crisis better or worse.
“The Scottish Government used to have a clear position on this – a presumption against all new licenses for oil and gas fields in the North Sea. That would have clearly ruled out support for both Jackdaw and Rosebank," she said.
“But the draft energy strategy has lain in a drawer for over three years now, never published or finalised. That’s despite a majority of people responding to the consultation supporting the presumption against new licenses. And polling from earlier this year shows that’s still the case.
“Last week’s Programme for Government promises a ‘refreshed’ energy strategy., at some point down the line, but it also says new licenses should be treated on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.
"Does the First Minister think new oil and gas fields in the North Sea will make the climate crisis better or worse?"
Swinney said it would be “unlawful” not to consider new gas field licences on a case-by-case basis, adding that the Scottish Government attaches "the greatest possible importance" to taking climate action.
