Hansard

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

04 Jun 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party Finances

My question is this. It is beyond doubt that there should be a parliamentary inquiry. Will John Swinney finally back that inquiry, or will it require further arrests for the public to get the truth?

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

04 Jun 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party Finances

I thank John Swinney for accepting that there could potentially have been illegal reclaiming of VAT from HMRC, which means potential misuse of public money that should not have been claimed, because of the fraudulent receipts issued by Peter Murrell. However, that also demonst...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

04 Jun 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party Finances

There are really serious questions here. Peter Murrell has pled guilty to embezzling £400,000. It has now become clear that he did much of that by falsifying receipts, on many occasions pretending that they were for legitimate business costs.Political parties, like businesses,...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

04 Jun 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party Finances

Yesterday, John Swinney and the Scottish National Party Government were held in contempt of court for failing to be open and transparent with the public. As that was happening, John Swinney finally admitted that the £600,000 that his party raised from members of the public exp...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

28 May 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party (Culture)

The purpose of a parliamentary inquiry would not be to look into the criminality—that is, of course, for the police to do. It would be to look at the culture, the process of decision making and lessons for the future. It would be to answer the many questions that the public ha...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

28 May 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party (Culture)

That arrogant disposition of John Swinney is what has destroyed so many people’s lives in his own political party. John Swinney has been at the heart of the SNP for 30 years. He helped to build, enable and defend its culture. I say to members on the SNP benches that many of th...

1. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

28 May 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Party (Culture)

This week, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party, pled guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 of supporters’ hard-earned cash. He will have to answer for his crimes, which will be a matter for the courts.However, questions remain abo...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

26 May 2026

Independence Referendum

Mr Gray will argue his view and I am going to argue mine—that is democracy. The reality is that there is a mix of views across the country, as was clear during the election. That was clear from the First Minister’s own statement. He did not say that we had had an independence ...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

26 May 2026

Independence Referendum

I say first that although I welcome much of the content of the First Minister’s opening statement, the reality is that the contrast between that statement and the motion for debate is stark. The majority of the statement focused on issues that I think people would want the Sco...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

26 May 2026

Independence Referendum

Mr Gray will argue his view and I am going to argue mine—that is democracy. The reality is that there is a mix of views across the country, as was clear during the election. That was clear from the First Minister’s own statement. He did not say that we had had an independence ...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

26 May 2026

Independence Referendum

I say first that although I welcome much of the content of the First Minister’s opening statement, the reality is that the contrast between that statement and the motion for debate is stark. The majority of the statement focused on issues that I think people would want the Sco...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 May 2026

First Minister

On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I congratulate John Swinney on his election as First Minister. I sincerely wish him well in office. To serve as First Minister is not only a great privilege but a profound responsibility. To hold that office at a time of such uncertainty...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

19 May 2026

First Minister

Presiding Officer, I congratulate you on your election.I rise to make this speech in the knowledge that we already know the outcome of today’s vote. I congratulate John Swinney and the SNP on their election win on 7 May.My party fought the election on the belief that Scotland ...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 May 2026

First Minister

On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I congratulate John Swinney on his election as First Minister. I sincerely wish him well in office. To serve as First Minister is not only a great privilege but a profound responsibility. To hold that office at a time of such uncertainty...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

19 May 2026

First Minister

Presiding Officer, I congratulate you on your election.I rise to make this speech in the knowledge that we already know the outcome of today’s vote. I congratulate John Swinney and the SNP on their election win on 7 May.My party fought the election on the belief that Scotland ...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 May 2026

First Minister

On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I congratulate John Swinney on his election as First Minister. I sincerely wish him well in office. To serve as First Minister is not only a great privilege but a profound responsibility. To hold that office at a time of such uncertainty...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

19 May 2026

First Minister

Presiding Officer, I congratulate you on your election.I rise to make this speech in the knowledge that we already know the outcome of today’s vote. I congratulate John Swinney and the SNP on their election win on 7 May.My party fought the election on the belief that Scotland ...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

14 May 2026

Oaths and Affirmations

Bi-smi llahi r-rahmani r-rahim.I, Anas Sarwar, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

14 May 2026

Oaths and Affirmations

Bi-smi llahi r-rahmani r-rahim.I, Anas Sarwar, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

14 May 2026

Oaths and Affirmations

Bi-smi llahi r-ra?mani r-ra?im.I, Anas Sarwar, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Motion of Thanks

I will start by not only supporting the motion in the First Minister’s name but echoing all his comments.Presiding Officer, I thank you for your dedication over the past five years and for your dedication over 15 years to your constituents and to the great people of Scotland.T...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish Government (Record)

Five years ago, the SNP promised recovery and failed. Is it not the case that the next five years must be about Scotland recovering from John Swinney and the failing SNP?

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish Government (Record)

What Scots will hear from that is that John Swinney thinks that 10,000 homeless children is a measure of the Government’s success, rather than a measure of its failure.I started my public service as a national health service dentist, and fixing our NHS is personal to me. The S...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish Government (Record)

I just read out the facts in the record of failure. Let us not forget that John Swinney was the education secretary who marked down working-class kids during the pandemic. When he did that, he told teachers that he did not trust their judgment and young people that he did not ...

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish Government (Record)

TheParliament is supposed to be about the lived experiences of Scots. Five years ago, Scots elected a Scottish Government on a clear promise to make this a Covid recovery Parliament. Let us not forget that John Swinney was the Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery. But we did n...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Hospitals (Ventilation and Water Safety Issues)

The families are desperate for truth and justice, and they are the ones who John Swinney is forgetting. The Queen Elizabeth university hospital scandal is the worst in the history of the Parliament. Children and adults have died, and others have been left with life-changing in...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Hospitals (Ventilation and Water Safety Issues)

I suggest that John Swinney looks Kimberly Darroch in the eye and makes those same comments, because she was lied to. She was not told the truth about how her daughter was killed, and we have seen all the consequences that resulted from that in the eight years that followed. F...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Hospitals (Ventilation and Water Safety Issues)

Children died at that hospital, so I suggest that members listen.More than a decade ago, the SNP Government opened a hospital in Glasgow that was not safe because of ventilation and water safety issues. Four years later, the opening of the sick kids hospital in Edinburgh was d...

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

19 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Hospitals (Ventilation and Water Safety Issues)

More than a decade ago, the Scottish National Party Government opened a hospital—Interruption.

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

13 Mar 2026

Inclusive Parliament Review

This deeply worrying report must be taken with the utmost seriousness. Its content demands not defensiveness or delay, but decisive action from all of us. There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment and bullying in the Scottish Parliament. We all have a responsibility t...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

12 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Glasgow Union Street Fire

John Swinney and I agree about the exemplary nature of the decision making of those individual firefighters, but he needs to commit to an urgent investigation of the impact of the capacity that was available to those firefighters. I do not think that he can logically say that ...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

12 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Glasgow Union Street Fire

I welcome those comments. Fires such as the one that we saw on Sunday are difficult to fight, and we saw the dedication of our firefighters.However, the truth is that, too often, our firefighters have to fight fires with reduced capacity. In 2023, John Swinney and the Scottish...

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

12 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Glasgow Union Street Fire

On Sunday night, like so many other Glaswegians, I watched in horror as yet another fire ripped through the heart of our city. I want to place on record my thanks to the members of the emergency services who ran towards danger to protect others. Thanks to them, no one was seri...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Dunblane Shootings (30th Anniversary)

Tomorrow marks 30 years since the Dunblane tragedy—a day that will be forever etched in our memories. Sixteen children and a teacher went to school that day but did not make it home, because of the actions of an evil man. However, it is not that evil man we should remember, bu...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I apologise for delaying the chamber even further, Presiding Officer. My app would not load. I would have voted yes.

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Inaudible.

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

05 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

In that answer, John Swinney reveals the inconsistency at the heart of this Government. The Government received 14 amber and red warnings before March 2018, but still took no action and denied that there were infection risks at the hospital. The First Minister now admits that ...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

05 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

To be frank, patients and families will see right through the nonsense of John Swinney, because they have been hearing it for eight years. This is not the only occasion on which John Swinney has misled Parliament. He has done it for weeks in relation to safety issues at the ho...

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

05 Mar 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

Last week in the chamber, John Swinney shamefully turned his back on families impacted by the Queen Elizabeth university hospital scandal. Later today, he will finally meet them in an online Teams call. I hope that he will take the opportunity to apologise to them.Last week, J...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

26 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

All the families whose tragic stories I have shared are here today in the Parliament. Each and every one of the people who are standing right now has spent years having to stand up for themselves against a system that has misled them and treated them appallingly. There have be...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

26 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

There is a group of victims whose story has not been told enough so far. Those families believe that their children have been left with lifelong debilitating conditions as a result of prolonged use of those drugs due to infection risks that were caused by the hospital environm...

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

26 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

For years, families have been searching for answers to the Queen Elizabeth university hospital scandal. As everyone in the Parliament now knows, the hospital was opened before it was safe and, as a result, children and adults died. John Swinney said that the Government first k...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

26 Feb 2026

War in Ukraine(Fourth Anniversary)

It is four years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I remember when we first spoke in Parliament, just days after the invasion began, and I believe that, in our hearts, we all hoped that it would end positively for the people of Ukraine within months. However, that tragedy...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

25 Feb 2026

Motion of Condolence

I echo and enthusiastically support the comments of both the First Minister, John Swinney, and Jackson Carlaw. Listening to them made me think that simply thinking of Jeane puts a smile on many of our faces. That is a remarkable way to remember anyone.Jeane Freeman was a treme...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Lord Advocate (Information Sharing)

Was it passed on in any form to any other SNP politician or party official?Is it not the truth that this is just the latest episode of an SNP Government, with a rotten culture at its heart, in which John Swinney and the SNP will always put their party before Scotland?

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Lord Advocate (Information Sharing)

That is amazing coming out of the mouth of John Swinney.These two sentences cannot both be true:“From the point at which an indictment is served, there is no limitation on its terms being made public.”—Official Report, 18 February 2026; c 77.and“The indictment is not a public ...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Lord Advocate (Information Sharing)

I remind the Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government that there have been incidents before in which members have misled this Parliament, so they should be very careful about what they say.Yesterday, the Lord Advocate appeared to give in...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

19 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Lord Advocate (Information Sharing)

I thank the First Minister for putting that on the record for future reference. It was the answer that I was expecting, but let us see, in the cold light of day, where that goes. Interruption.

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

19 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Lord Advocate (Information Sharing)

This week, we learned that the Lord Advocate disclosed to John Swinney information about the prosecution of Peter Murrell that was not in the public domain. Over the years, we have seen the Scottish National Party apply pressure to institutions to get the outcome that it wants...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

12 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

John Swinney forgets that the families are watching him and listening to his answers. Let us look at what the families are having to hear and endure: it is not just the pain of losing a loved one but that politics was put before patient safety and pressure was applied to open ...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

12 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

John Swinney is denying reality and continuing to mislead this Parliament. Let us look at the evidence. Despite his denials, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said:“Pressure was applied to open the hospital on time and on budget, and it is now clear that the hospital opened too ea...

2. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

12 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

I echo John Swinney’s comments about Jeane Freeman. We send our love and condolences to Susan and to all of her family, friends and colleagues.As I said in the chamber yesterday, I will forever be thankful, as will the families and doctors at the Queen Elizabeth university hos...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

11 Feb 2026

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

I thank the cabinet secretary for taking an intervention. With public confidence in mind, he refers to reports on water and ventilation. Will he publish those reports, and will he ensure that they are shared with Dr Inkster and Dr Peters, so that they are satisfied, as that wi...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

11 Feb 2026

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention on that point?

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

11 Feb 2026

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

It is really important that members of the board that had responsibility for appointments are told why information was withheld from that board by board executives and board managers and by Government—they need to answer those questions.Finally, on the questions that need to b...

Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab Chamber

11 Feb 2026

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

I begin by paying tribute to the late Jeane Freeman. My thoughts and those of all members of the Scottish Labour Party are with Jeane’s partner Susan and Jeane’s friends, family and former colleagues.Jeane and I had many political disagreements, but I have to pay tribute to Je...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

05 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

This document—

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

05 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

You should be ashamed—

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

05 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

It is not speculation; it is Scottish Government documents that prove that what John Swinney is saying is not true.This was Scotland’s newest and largest hospital, and Shona Robison and the Scottish Government got 14 alerts about infections between 2015 and 2018. Warning after...

Anas Sarwar Lab Chamber

05 Feb 2026

First Minister’s Question Time · Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

Just like last week, I am going to prove to the First Minister that what he is saying is a blatant untruth, because the Scottish Government document before me makes it clear that he knew before March 2018. It is here, in black and white.In March 2017, there was“A higher than e...