SCOTLAND’s Tory MPs don’t have a “spine” among them, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed in a blistering attack on Ruth Davidson’s party for pushing through Brexit legislation.
In a rowdy session of First Minister’s Questions, the SNP leader criticised the Tory boss for “meekly” doing as she’s told by her bosses in London, and for allowing her Westminster colleagues to be used as “lobby fodder”.
Davidson had used her time in the session to push Sturgeon on the brouhaha over Police Scotland’s beleaguered chief constable Phil Gormley and the mess over the Scottish Police Authority’s (SPA) decision to allow him to come back to work, and Justice Secretary Michael Matheson’s subsequent intervention.
Last November, the SPA had told the Chief he could return to work from the special leave he’d been placed on when investigators started probing multiple allegations of bullying and gross misconduct.
But when Matheson learned that the oversight body had given Gormley the all-clear - just 24 hours before the Chief was due to start back at work - he called SPA bosses in.
After that meeting the SPA then told the Chief Constable to remain on special leave.
Gormley’s lawyers have accused Matheson of acting unlawfully, a charge Davidson claimed needed to be looked at.
Davidson had also accused the SNP of trying to close down transparency by not keeping minutes of a meeting between Matheson and the SPA where they discussed the decision to allow the Chief Constable starting back at work.
Davidson asked why the meeting between the minister and the SPA had not been recorded, and why Matheson had intervened in a disciplinary case - despite previously saying he couldn’t. “Does she really believe that this fiasco has shown a functioning system that is either transparent or accountable?” Davidson asked.
The Tory said the lack of minutes was an example of the “SNP’s secret Scotland”.
“I believe the public have a right to see the decisions the government takes, not have them taken behind closed doors and in secret. “ “This is the SNP's secret scotland and it stinks,” Davidson added.
Sturgeon defended her justice secretary, saying he had not intervened in a disciplinary matter but when faced with the news that the Chief Constable was due to come back to work to ask legitimate questions to “determine whether the Scottish Police Authority had carried out its function appropriately.“ Last week Matheson said he'd asked the SPA if they'd checked with investigators and with the leadership team of Police Scotland, and if they'd made sure those who had complained about Gormley were properly protected.
“Let me be very clear, my justice secretary asking legitimate questions is not just fine by me, I expect that of my justice secretary. " Sturgeon said.
“I expect my justice secretary to do the job to he is appointed to do.”
The Tory boss’s line of questioning, Sturgeon argued was a “deflection”.
“A deflection in the week when we saw her party fail abysmally at standing up for Scotland in parliament on matters related to Brexit”.
“The week we found out that the Scottish Tories don’t have a backbone between them. They’re nothing more than lobby fodder.“ On Thursday night, despite expressing qualms about the EU withdrawal Bill, described by one Tory MP as “not fit for purpose”, Scotland’s 13 helped the government get the legislation pushed through the Commons.
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