Holyrood's ‘Speaker' accused of anti-Unionist bias after throwing out Tories' former leader

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2 days ago

The Scottish Parliament's presiding officer has been accused of 'blatant bias' against opponents of independence after she ejected a former leader of the Scottish Tories from the Holyrood chamber.
Alison Johnstone ordered Douglas Ross to leave the chamber during First Minister's Questions on Thursday, and banned him for the rest of the day.
Speaking outside the chamber, Mr Ross said 'many people' were questioning if the presiding officer, a former MSP for the pro-independence Scottish Greens, was 'truly neutral' following a series of clashes with Tory members.
He accused Ms Johnstone of 'taking very different approaches to nationalist politicians who step out of line compared to Unionist politicians who step out of line'.
The Scottish Tories also claimed Ms Johnstone had 'shown a consistent pattern to favour certain parties at the expense of others' and demanded talks to deal with the alleged 'bias'.
The Scottish Parliament said the presiding officer, whose job is equivalent to that of the Speaker at Westminster, had taken action against Mr Ross as he was a repeat offender and because of his 'persistent refusal to respect the rules of Parliament'.
But Tory insiders alleged Ms Johnstone had reprimanded other Conservatives for conduct that she permitted among MSPs from other parties. This included barracking political opponents from their seats in the chamber.
They highlighted how she repeatedly chastised Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, during First Minister's Questions on May 1 for failing to treat John Swinney with 'courtesy and respect'.
However, she failed to give the First Minister a reprimand when he accused his Conservative opponent of 'barefaced dishonesty.'
Ms Johnstone became a Green MSP for the Lothians region in 2011, but gave up her party affiliation when she was elected presiding officer after the 2021 Holyrood election.
During Thursday's First Minister's Questions, Mr Ross could be heard shouting 'deflection' at Mr Swinney as he responded to questions from Mr Findlay about the Scottish Government's net zero targets.
Ms Johnstone stopped proceedings and said: 'Mr Ross, you have persistently refused to abide by our standing orders. I ask you to leave the chamber; you are excluded for the rest of the day.'
Her decision to immediately expel Mr Ross appeared to surprise him and other MSPs as she had previously dealt with those who shouted from their seats by issuing a warning. After he failed to move, she ordered him out a second time and he left.
Ms Johnstone also warned two other Tory MSPs, Douglas Lumsden and Stephen Kerr, about 'shouting from your seat' during the session.
Mr Ross said: 'I think Alison Johnstone has to seriously consider her neutral role because at the moment from the outside many people are questioning if she is truly neutral. After what she has just done, I struggled to accept that she has been neutral for all members.
'I think we have got to look at her actions against Conservatives in general, and how she has responded to comments from SNP ministers. For example, the First Minister is apparently allowed to call the Conservatives 'a disgusting party' with no sanction.'
A Scottish Tory spokesman 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.'
Mr Kerr said: 'The presiding officer should be a stout defender of the rights of MSPs to hold ministers to account. Instead, we have one who appears more concerned with shielding ministers from scrutiny than standing up for the Parliament.'
But a Scottish Parliament spokesman said: 'The presiding officer has warned Mr Ross on repeated occasions recently about his behaviour in the chamber. Due to his persistent refusal to respect the rules of Parliament, the member was asked to leave the chamber. '
Holyrood insiders said Ms Johnstone had warned Mr Ross about his conduct on April 3 and twice on April 22, when she asked him to 'refrain from shouting from your seat' and challenged him over whether he wanted to leave the chamber. They added that she issued a further warning on May 8.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said: 'Anyone watching First Minister's Questions will know that for weeks and week Douglas Ross has been provoking the presiding officer in the hope that he would get thrown out, in a cynical bid for relevance.
'The presiding officer was quite right to eject him and my party has full confidence in her impartiality.'
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