Meeting of the Parliament 13 March 2026 [Draft]
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 to ensure that proper systems are in place to protect staff and to stamp out behaviour that has no place in any workplace, let alone in Scotland’s national Parliament.
I am glad to see that there are many practical solutions and recommendations, including independent investigation and reporting systems, which have long been advocated for by women’s groups and which have already been adopted by the Labour Party. The report makes it clear that confidence, consistency and culture must now be strengthened. Holyrood must be more open, more accountable and more responsive. It must, above all, be a place where people feel safe to do the work that is entrusted to us by the people of Scotland.
However, there is another principle that must guide us all. Support for victims must come first. That is not an issue for one party alone. Painfully, there are lessons for all of us, right across the political spectrum. For our part, we must all continue to work to build a Parliament that defends the rights of all who work here and to create a working environment in which everyone feels safe and can thrive.
My pledge is that my party will support the Parliament in putting its collective shortcomings right. Regardless of party or political belief, we must stand together to ensure that this Parliament is a safe place to work for every single person in it. It is what Scotland and all the people who work in this place deserve.
That is why I respectfully ask that, after the publication of the report and hearing from the chamber on it today, we ensure that the issue is not left by the sidelines when, inevitably, we all get into campaign mode. I also request that the Presiding Officer and all other officials right across the Parliament do their utmost to ensure that whoever the successor as Presiding Officer is makes this an urgent priority for the next Parliament and ensures that we make significant progress at the earliest possible opportunity. That is a responsibility on each and every one of us.