A TORY MSP was slapped down and told off by Holyrood’s Presiding Officer at a fiery First Minister’s Questions.
Alison Johnstone was forced to intervene several times amid shouts from the Scottish Conservative benches as First Minister John Swinney spoke in defence of Nicola Sturgeon.
It came after Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay opened with an attack on Sturgeon’s time as first minister, coming just a day after she announced she will be standing down as an MSP in 2026.
Findlay then used several follow up questions at FMQs to do the same.
“Nicola Sturgeon tried to break up our great country but we, the Scottish Conservatives, stopped her,” he said.
“Nicola Sturgeon will leave amidst an ongoing police investigation into the SNP's finances while John Swinney still backs her toxic politics to the hilt. Yesterday's man standing by yesterday's woman."
Findlay then asked: “How can he ever change Scotland for the better when he's been at the heart of the problem for two decades?”
The First Minister then responded: “Russell Findlay used the term scraping the bottom of the barrel, and that is exactly what Russell Findlay has just done.”
The Presiding Officer then intervened.
"Mr [Craig] Hoy seems to be having a particular difficulty adhering to the standing orders of this Parliament," she said – referring to the Tory MSP for South Scotland.
“I will not ask again that you do adhere to those standing orders.”
Standing orders are the rules that regulate the way MSPs conduct Holyrood business.
“Russell Findlay has just scraped the bottom of the barrel with the type of toxic personality politics that have become the character of the Conservative Party in Scotland,” Swinney went on.
“There was not a single suggestion of how Scotland could be improved in that question. Not a single example of how the Conservatives, after inflicting 14 years of austerity on this country, of busting the public finances with that stupid and reckless budget that Liz Truss presided over and that Russell Finlay wanted me to emulate, not a single suggestion of how to improve Scotland for the better.”
He added: “So, I think the more the people of Scotland look at the Scottish Conservatives, the more they will see a party that is toxic in everything.”
