Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 12 February 2026 [Draft]
12 Feb 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
First Minister’s Question Time
Justice System (Death of Keith Rollinson)
Sue Rollinson’s beloved husband of 33 years went out to work as a bus driver but never came home. Keith Rollinson was violently attacked by a teenage thug and died in hospital. As he lay dying, Sue and her daughters were told not to touch him. Sue told me:
“We weren’t even allowed to hold his hand because the police said that it might contaminate the evidence.”
The killer was sentenced to four years and four months. He was not sent to prison. Instead, he was sent to charity-run accommodation with a swimming pool and a courtyard garden. He has not spent a single night in prison. He killed an innocent man two years ago, but he could be freed and back home within weeks. Does John Swinney think that that is justice?
In the same item of business
1. Russell Findlay (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Sue Rollinson’s beloved husband of 33 years went out to work as a bus driver but never came home. Keith Rollinson was violently attacked by a teenage thug an...
The First Minister (John Swinney)
SNP
Before I come on to the important point that Mr Findlay has raised, I record my sadness at the death of Jeane Freeman, who was one of my Cabinet colleagues w...
Russell Findlay
Con
John Swinney cannot say it, so I will say it for him: a violent killer not spending a single night in prison and potentially being back home after two years ...
The First Minister
SNP
As Mr Findlay correctly says, the information and guidance on sentencing come from the independent Scottish Sentencing Council, which takes a considered view...
Russell Findlay
Con
My description of the SNP’s sentencing guidelines was 100 per cent accurate. Keith Rollinson’s killer previously attacked another bus driver, yet, after that...
The First Minister
SNP
The draft code that will enable the decisions that Mr Findlay is talking about to be made was shared with the parliamentary committee that will scrutinise th...
Russell Findlay
Con
In attempting to decipher all that, it sounds as though the killer may well still have his free bus pass, despite killing a bus driver.Keith Rollinson’s trag...
The First Minister
SNP
I have every sympathy for Mrs Rollinson and what she has endured. She and her husband should never have had to experience the awfulness of what they have exp...
The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone)
NPA
Let us hear one another.
The First Minister
SNP
At the same time, people are being sentenced for invariably longer periods in prison as a consequence of the success of the Government in taking forward, thr...