That concludes our coverage of first minister's questions with electioneering truly getting under way. Here's a recap of the headlines:

• First Minister John Swinney said he would not support the Holyrood Standards Committee's recommendation to suspend former Michael Matheson from parliament for 27 sitting days
• Swinney said Matheson was a "good friend" and claimed the process had been "prejudiced"
• Douglas Ross said Swinney was "defending the indefensible" and called on him to kick Matheson out of the SNP
• The Scottish Conservative leader announced his party would bring a motion calling for Matheson to resign as an MSP
• Swinney said he would not support calls for Matheson to resign
• The Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also went on Matheson calling the reaction of Swinney "unbelievable and embarrassing"
• Swinney warned the way this issue was being handled was setting a "very dangerous precedent"
• Scottish Greens co leader Lorna Slater called for new oil and gas to be left in the ground adding her party were alone in addressing the climate emergency
• The FM pointed to two recent renewable projects as examples of the government's commitment to the renewable sector

Today's editor was Nichola Rutherford. The writers were James Delaney and Craig Hutchison, with Oliver Coe.

Thank you for joining us and have a good afternoon.

Douglas Ross raises a point of order at the conclusion of the session in relation to the first minister's comments about the standard's committee and its sanction of Michael Matheson.

He asks if the presiding officer will offer John Swinney the opportunity to release all correspondence to the committee that he made about the situation with Matheson to the public domain today.

He asks if the first minister refuses to do so, what opportunities there will be for the parliament as a whole to instruct Swinney to provide copies of that correspondence.

The PO says it is not a matter for the chair to rule on.

Swinney begins a response, but Johnstone cuts him off and suggests the session is concluded and moves on.

Labour’s Jackie Baillie asks about the unfolding missing ashes scandal.

She cites the case of one of her constituents whose mother died in 2021, but was told her ashes had been found at a funeral partner owned by A Milne Funeral Directors.

She says the parliament passed regulations on a code of practice for funeral directors in January, but they will not be implemented until March 2025.

Baillie asks whether the first minister will accelerate the legislation so that families can be protected from “rogue funeral directors”.

Swinney says what she has said is “completely and utterly unacceptable” and brands the funeral home’s conduct “reprehensible”.

He says he will explore whether there is an opportunity to accelerate the timescale.

He says the overwhelming majority of funeral directors act with integrity and appropriateness at all times.

But he says the government has to make sure that “protection is in place for the public”.

Read more on this story here.

The first minister begins by expressing his deepest sympathy to the family of Ivy Mae Ross.

Swinney agrees it would be preferable and desirable for there to be ambulance crews available for such incidents.

He accepts a number of ambulances were stacked up outside the hospital.

He pledges to raise the issues mentioned by Douglas Lumsden with NHS Grampian.

The parents of a one-year-old girl who died after being hit by a Land Rover in a church car park have paid tribute to their "beautiful" daughter.

Ivy Mae Ross was struck outside the Plymouth Brethren meeting hall in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, at about 19:45 on Wednesday. She was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but died a short time later.

Her parents Holly and Glenn said it was a "tragic accident" that had left them devastated.

The church told BBC Scotland News she was part of its "vibrant local community" and said the accident happened after a Bible reading at the hall.

Read more here.

Douglas Lumsden asks about the tragic accident in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, last week where a baby girl was killed by a Land Rover.

The Tory MSP points out no ambulances were available to attend the incident as they were all stacked outside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

A special operations response team were deployed to the scene, he tells the chamber.

"This tragic incident should be a wake up call to the Scottish government," he adds.

"Yesterday was World Pre-Eclampsia Day. Women in Scotland have died. Babies in Scotland have died," says Labour MSP Monica Lennon.

"These words today will not reassure anyone," she insists.

"Again the government is on the back foot. The lives of women and babies are at risk and sadly some have died."

She calls on the first minister and other ministers to meet with those directly involved and learn what is already rolled-out in Wales and England.

Swinney says he would be happy to meet with the health secretary and the campaigners.

Conservative MSP Tess White asks the FM what the Scottish government’s response is to reports that no NHS board has implemented placental growth factor-based testing for pre-eclampsia.

The Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) recommended the test in March 2023.

The condition causes high blood pressure during pregnancy and after labour and can be extremely serious if not treated.

Swinney says the government is committed to “continuous improvement in maternity safety”.

He says the government has written again to NHS boards for an update on the implementation of the recommendations.

White says women are “being denied the test,” and says Scotland has been “on the back foot” when it comes to making the tests available.

Swinney says the health secretary is “actively pursuing” it with health boards across the country.

The first minister replies the government will bring forward the energy strategy shortly but this will be affected by the general election.

Slater argues the SNP faces both ways on oil and gas.

"It is only the Scottish Greens who are giving clear and urgent response to the climate emergency," she says.

Swinney highlights recent renewable projects which signal the commitment of the government as does the support it is putting in place for the renewable sector in Scotland.

It's now the turn of Lorna Slater to quiz the FM.

The Scottish Greens co-leader says her party welcomes John Swinney's commitment to prioritise the climate emergency.

New oil and gas must be left in the ground, she insists.

Slater asks when will the Scottish government publish the now long overdue final energy strategy.

She also asks if the strategy will still contain the presumption against new oil and gas that was consulted on.

Sarwar is back on the attack, accusing Swinney of “demeaning the parliament in order to protect one of his friends”.

He says the SNP are quick to demand action at Westminster, but “hold themselves to a lower standard” in Scotland.

He accuses the party of treating the public with contempt and adds the public will have the opportunity to make their judgement on two governments.

Swinney says the SNP government has “enhanced the lives of people in Scotland”.

He says the SNP’s policies on childcare and action of poverty compared with Labour’s when they left office in 2007 is delivering a higher quality of life for people in Scotland.

Sarwar accuses the SNP of operating a “one rule for everybody else and one standard for the SNP” policy.

He says if Matheson was an opposition MSP, Swinney would not have the same response.

The Labour leader says “people can see right through what is happening here”.

He also says Scotland lags behind Westminster when it comes to recalling MPs suspended for more than 10 days.

He asks Swinney whether he supports the right to recall in that instance.

Swinney responds that parliament could consider that proposition. He adds recall arrangements are “appropriate”.

Swinney says he would be concerned about the process regardless of the party involved and wants business conducted “fairly and openly”.

But he says parliament is setting “a very dangerous precedent by the way this is being handled”.

Anas Sarwar is up next and starts his first question by describing Swinney’s defence of Matheson as “unbelievable and embarrassing”.

He says Swinney has “demeaned himself and the office of first minister” and says it is not the actions of the standards of the committee that should be judged, but those of Matheson.

He says every day the SNP government in Edinburgh and the Tory government in Westminster are becoming “more and more alike”.

He asks Swinney to “do the right thing for once” and demand Matheson resigns.

Swinney says he is interested in “putting parliament first”.

He repeats that he wrote about his concerns over the standards committee to the corporate body and says parliament must have “fair processes”.

In response to Sarwar’s comparison with Boris Johnson, he cites the case of Chris Bryant, who recused himself from a Commons standards committee investigation due to making public comments about the case.

He says the process “has not been protected here” and says he comes to it from the Christian maxim of “do unto others what you would have done unto yourself”.

Swinney says parliament must confront the issue of fairness.

Ross asks if the first minister believes the SNP will be punished for its handling of this scandal on 4 July.

Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone reminds the chamber it is not the place to campaign for a general election.

The FM argues his job is to improve the lives of the people of Scotland after 14 years of austerity, Brexit and the cost of living crisis.

"I know the people of Scotland will support the SNP," he adds.

'One of the toughest punishments ever handed out'published at 12:28 23 May

12:28 23 May

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Michael Matheson's sanction is one of the toughest punishments ever handed out in the Scottish Parliament. Interestingly, the withdrawal of 54 days worth of salary equates roughly to the amount of the data roaming bill at the heart of the row.

One of the four MSPs who sits on the standards committee has herself been banned from Holyrood in the past.

Annie Wells received a week long suspension in 2018 after commenting on an embargoed report about prisoner voting.

At the time her colleagues argued she had merely commented on the report after being contacted by the media, and had not leaked it.

But parliament took a different view. Five-day suspensions seem to be the standard punishment for leaking. Former MSPs Brian Monteith and Mike Pringle also faced the same sanction.

Month-long bans without pay were handed out to the Scottish Socialist MSPs in 2005, when they disrupted chamber business by protesting about the G8 summit, and to the former SNP minister Mark McDonald for sexual harassment after he sent inappropriate text messages.

Wendy Alexander received a one-day suspension back in 2008 for failing to declare donations to her party leadership campaign. The controversy ultimately led to her resignation.

John Swinney insists he cares deeply about the reputation and integrity of this parliament and he warns of "deep damage" if the issue he has raised are not addressed.

"No I will not support calls for Michael Matheson to resign."

"This is incredible and indefensible by the first minister," Ross hits back.

"He's the first minister that backs his pals."

The first minister's endorsement of Michael Matheson will shock the people of this country, he declares.

"I can announce today that the Scottish Conservatives will seek to bring forward a vote in this chamber next week.

"Our motion will state that Michael Matheson should resign for misuing taxpayers' money and making false statements to the public, the press and parlimament."

John Swinney explains that before he became first minister he drew the issues about Stephen Kerr's comments and those of Annie Wells to the attention of the convener of the Standards, Public Appointments and Procedures Committee.

The first minister adds: "I am interested in the integrity of the parliament."

He reiterates he has an issue when people have prejudged this case as that brings the parliament into disrepute.

Swinney says again if a constituent came to him saying they were about to face a disciplinary panel at work and members had made prejudicial comments about them "I would come down on that employer like a ton of bricks".

Douglas Ross tells the chamber: "This is incredible."

The Scottish Tory leader reiterates Michael Matheson misled the public and the press.

He adds it was the parliamentary corporate body that found Matheson guilty.

"Shockingly John Swinney is standing here today defending the indefensible," Ross says.

In the real world Michael Matheson would have lost his job for what he did and what he claimed, says the Scottish Tory leader.

The first minister says that Michael Matheson is "a friend and a colleague of mine".

Swinney says he made mistakes but there has been no cost to the public purse.

He adds: "I believe this process has been prejudiced."

Stephen Kerr and Annie Wells, both Tory MSPs, made comments that prejudged the case, he says.

He says Annie Wells did make public comments and "that is why I will not be supporting this sanction".