Douglas Ross excluded from chamber during angry exchanges at FMQs

Former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was asked to leave the main chamber of the Scottish Parliament after repeatedly heckling during First Minister’s Questions.

The MSP has also been excluded from chamber business for the rest of the day by Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone.

First Minister John Swinney had been answering questions from the current Tory leader, Russell Findlay, in relation to net zero.

But Ross repeatedly heckled and accused the FM of “deflection” during his response.

The move comes after several weeks of warnings from the presiding officer about Ross’s behaviour during FMQs.

The Scottish Conservatives have accused Johnstone of “blatant bias”. A spokesperson said: “The presiding officer has shown a consistent pattern to favour certain parties at the expense of others.

“We will be seeking discussions to reiterate that the presiding officer should not show blatant bias.”

Findlay was raising last week’s report from the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) which proposed new carbon budgets for the Scottish Government.

He said the report “lays bare the crippling cost” of achieving net zero by 2045, the statutory target set by parliament.

He added: “If John Swinney sticks to his target, he has to be honest with the people of Scotland about the price he expects them to pay.

“They will be forced to ditch petrol cars, rip out their boilers and change their diets; farmers will need to get rid of cattle; Scotland’s oil and gas industry would cease to exist – all of this to be paid through higher taxes and higher household bills.”

Swinney said his government would “carefully consider” the CCC report before bringing its proposals back to parliament, but he said he remained “absolutely committed” to net zero.

He accused the Conservatives of “playing politics” and “deserting” the consensus that had emerged on climate action.

He said: “It is possible to grow our economy and reduce carbon emissions by sensible investment… That is the commitment of the Scottish Government, to make sure that we deliver a just transition, that we grow the economy, and we always take action to protect the interests of the people of Scotland.”

Elsewhere, Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar raised the increasingly long waits being faced by people requiring specialist NHS services.

Recent figures showed a substantial increase in people waiting more than two years for gynaecology, ear, nose and throat, and general surgery appointments.

The first minister apologised to those waiting too long, but said his government was working to increase the number of appointments in the NHS.

Sarwar said: “Week after week, John Swinney comes to this chamber and apologises – and things continue to get worse. People don’t want to hear ‘sorry’, they want treatment.”