John Swinney is to leave the Scottish Government with Nicola Sturgeon, he has confirmed.
The longest serving Scottish Deputy First Minister described his almost 16 years in the Cabinet, first under Alex Salmond then under Sturgeon, as the “privilege of my life”.
But he said after taking on several “demanding” roles, including as finance secretary, education secretary, and currently as the Covid Recovery Secretary, he will be stepping down from the government when the new first minister is appointed.