John Swinney defends Angela Constance amid accusations she misled parliament

Angela Constance has not offered her resignation to John Swinney amid a row over whether she misled parliament.

The first minister has said he continues to have confidence in his justice secretary in the face of a motion of no confidence lodged by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

Swinney defended Constance during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, saying comments she made about Professor Alexis Jay and grooming gangs were “general” and therefore she had not misrepresented Jay’s views.

Constance quoted Jay in a parliament debate in September when she was speaking against a Scottish Conservative amendment to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would have led to a grooming gangs inquiry if taken forward.

She has since insisted she had done so accurately.

But in a newly released letter, Jay told Constance that while her wording was correct, she was speaking in a different context which “had nothing to do with [the Conservatives’] amendment, or the position in Scotland, as could be interpreted from your statement”.

Sarwar told Swinney he was “defending the indefensible” and the “rules are clear” on ministers who mislead the parliament.

“She must resign or John Swinney must sack her,” he said.

The Scottish Conservatives called for Constance to be sacked last night.

At FMQs, leader Russell Findlay said: “The justice secretary misrepresented an expert, then denied doing so when asked by journalists. She failed to correct the record, and she’s not even apologised. So why isn’t it obvious to John Swinney that she has broken the ministerial code?”

He warned he would bring forward a motion of no confidence if Swinney did not sack her.

But Sarwar had announced he had brought forward such a motion ahead of the session. In a post in social media he said: “She misrepresented Professor Alexis Jay on the serious issue of grooming gangs and misled parliament. She has had repeated opportunities to apologise and correct the record, but failed to do so. She can’t remain in her position.”

In response to both opposition leaders, Swinney said Constance was reflecting on “general comments” that had been made at the time.

He said: “The justice secretary was making a general comment in the victims and witnesses bill [debate] and the issue about Professor Jay has been addressed in the minutes of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Group.”

Outside the chamber, the first minister was asked if he still had confidence in the justice secretary, to which he said “yes”.

On whether he would refer the matter to the independence adviser on the ministerial code, he said: “I’ve looked at this and I’m satisfied with the way it’s been handled. I’ve made that clear to parliament.”

Constance was also approached by journalists after FMQs who asked whether she was concerned about the confidence vote. 

She said: “My priority every day is to continue to serve the justice system."

Asked whether she had offered her resignation, she confirmed she had not. She added: “I’m going to continue to, with every breath that I have, yes, explain my position when that’s required and asked for – but my focus is on the job that I have to do.”

Constance, a former social worker, was not present in the chamber yesterday as former Tory leader Douglas Ross raised an urgent question about her quotation of Jay.

Ross said: “Angela Constance’s position is completely untenable. She must resign immediately or John Swinney should sack her."

Ross said Constance had committed “a clear breach of the ministerial code” and tried to carry out a cover-up. He said: “Consequences must follow.”

Children's minister Natalie Don-Innes told parliament: “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.”