Angela Constance faces calls to resign over Alexis Jay grooming inquiry row

John Swinney was tonight told “he’s going to lose his justice secretary” as MSPs accused Angela Constance of misleading parliament.

Constance has denied misrepresenting the position of child abuse expert Professor Alexis Jay, who has led work into grooming gangs in England.

In relation to calls for a national inquiry in Scotland, the SNP minister said Jay did not seek further such probes, and wanted leaders to “just get on with it”.

A newly published email from Jay to Constance shows the expert giving context to her initial comment, and saying that this did not relate to Scottish Parliament business.

In an urgent question, former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has tonight said the row will cost Constance her job.

Standing in the Scottish Parliament, he said: “John Swinney is staring right in front of him because he can't look at me now, because the next thing I'm about to say is he's going to lose his justice secretary: Angela Constance is either going to have to resign or be sacked for misleading parliament.

“In black and white, it is clear that the justice secretary did not tell the truth to this chamber. In black and white, it is clear that Professor Alexis Jay wanted that correction to be made.”

The matter relates back to a September debate in which Tory MSP Liam Kerr sought to have the new Victims Commissioner carry out investigations into grooming gangs.

Constance said Jay “shares my view and has put on the record and stated to the media that she does not support further inquiries into child sexual abuse and exploitation, given the significant time and resource already spent in the review that she led” and similar work.

In her letter, Jay – who will chair the national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group from next month – said: “You correctly quoted me as saying ‘people should just get on with action on child sexual exploitation’. I made this comment on January 7 of this year in the context of the England and Wales public inquiry on child sexual abuse, which I chaired, on which little had been done at that time to progress my final recommendations.

“My statement followed an intervention by Elon Musk. It had nothing to do with Mr Kerr’s amendment, or the position in Scotland, as could be interpreted from your statement.

“I have expressed no views on Mr Kerr’s amendment, but I am of the opinion that the Scottish Government should urgently take steps to establish reliable data about the nature and extent of child sexual exploitation by organised networks, of which so-called grooming gangs is only one component.”

She went on: “I would appreciate my position being clarified.”

Constance was not in the chamber for Ross’s question, with children’s minister Natalie Don-Innes speaking for the government. Ross asked her: “Where is the justice secretary? Why is she not here in this chamber? And does the minister believe, as I think most people will know, that the justice secretary's position is untenable?”

Don-Innes said all material related to the exchange had been published by the government, telling Ross: “Ms Constance did note specifically that Professor Jay had been the chair of independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales, and had put on record in the past that, in regard to child sexual abuse and exploitation, ‘people should just get on with it’.”

She continued: “Ms Constance did not state that Professor Jay was speaking directly about the amendment. She made a general point on Professor Jay's views on calls for inquiries, and that she also wanted to get on with the work needed to protect our children, and given the seriousness of the issue at hand, I think that should be all of our focus in this parliament going forward.”