Meeting of the Parliament 30 April 2024
First and foremost, the people involved in the Horizon scandal are the most important ones here. They have waited for decades for Westminster to find a solution to the issue.
This is all very disappointing from the Conservatives, and I feel that I have to educate Mr Ross on the way in which this Parliament works. He seems to be more au fait with how Westminster works. The Parliamentary Bureau was set up as a way for all parliamentary bodies and parties comprising members of the Parliament to have a discussion on how business goes forward. We have open discussions as a safe place for everyone. It is not for us to sit here and start chuntering on about that in the chamber, two hours after the meeting; it is to be done there, in the bureau.
Douglas Ross is quite right that our meetings do not take place in smoke-filled rooms or anything like that; they are perfectly open for everyone to see. The disappointing part, and the misunderstanding, relates to this: during today’s debate and discussion, I said, “I have just received this information this morning. I have been to Cabinet, and things have been quite busy. I will get back to business managers in the usual manner.” Surely we have built up enough trust with individuals to deal with that.
Let us just deal with the clarity of the situation. There is no clarity needed. The Scottish Government has repeatedly made clear its position that proposed legislation will be brought forward to the Scottish Parliament as required. Late last night, it became clear that the United Kingdom Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill would not be extended to Scotland, and the Scottish Government is deeply disappointed with that decision by the UK Government.