Meeting of the Parliament 28 January 2026 [Draft]
We strongly oppose the Scottish National Party’s attempt to change today’s business motion. This Parliament has a wide range of powers and responsibilities, covering hospitals and general practitioners, schools and universities, police and prisons, roads and public transport. That is what Holyrood should be talking about, and it is what MSPs are paid to do. Those are the issues that people care about. However, John Swinney has spotted an opportunity for grievance and grandstanding—two of his favourite things—and a chance to cosplay as a world statesman while meddling in matters that are not his domain.
I welcome the United Kingdom-US military operation to stop a sanction-busting oil tanker. Such vessels flout sanctions that have been imposed against evil regimes. Oil that is transported by that global ghost fleet literally fuels Putin’s slaughter of innocent Ukrainians. Their illicit cargo bankrolls the Ayatollahs, who are murdering brave Iranians in the streets.
I do not know the exact details of the court action in question. I do not need to. Let due process play out. If the sanction-busting Russian skipper of a ghost fleet ship has some kind of legal grievance, that is his business. We should be focused on what we are paid to do—not least addressing the vast backlog of legislation that is being rushed through Parliament, with weeks until dissolution. Just last night, some MSPs said that they were unable to speak fully to certain amendments due to a lack of time. That is a recipe for yet more bad legislation from the Government.
Parliament’s time is precious and finite. The SNP Government frequently resists attempts to speak about serious issues for which it is responsible. We saw that recently with the scandal of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs misrepresenting an expert on grooming gangs. We are seeing it again right now with the SNP’s bizarre court case in which it is fighting to keep men in women’s prisons.
The SNP has failed Scotland. Our public services are getting worse and taxes are going up, but John Swinney wants to waste Parliament’s time to score political points on behalf of a seized Russian oil tanker. We say, “No, John Swinney—get on with the bloody day job.”