• Douglas Ross accuses the first minister of "operation blame Derek Mackay" over the "ferries fiasco" but says it has a fatal flaw
• The Scottish Conservative leader says the missing document - which has now been found - reveals the person who signed off on the deal was actually the deputy first minister, "Honest John" Swinney
• Nicola Sturgeon says Mr Ross is displaying "utter desperation" and insists Mr Swinney - then the finance minister - was simply briefed on the decision taken by then transport minister Mr Mackay
• Mr Ross also calls for Mr Swinney to give a statement to Holyrood on "why he gave the green light" to the ferries deal, but the FM accuses the Tory leader of selectively quoting from emails and says it is not her job to help out "desperate Douglas Ross"
• Anas Sarwar asks the first minister if she will reveal the outcome of an investigation into bullying allegations against former minister Fergus Ewing, but she insists she is bound by data protection and privacy laws and cannot answer questions on the issue
• The Scottish Labour leader says the SNP government operates in a “culture of secrecy and cover-up”. The FM counters the people of Scotland have had the chance to decide if her government has been in power too long, and "their answer has been pretty clear”
• Ms Sturgeon praises TV presenter Eilidh Barbour for taking a stand over sexist and racist jokes at the Scottish Football Writers' Association gala dinner, adding that "it is male behaviour that we must see change"
• The FM says she will look into the issue of raw sewage going into Scotland's rivers, raised by Lib-Dems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton
• Ms Sturgeon also says she will personally chair any emergency summit on access to abortion healthcare, and that the government is considering "buffer zones" over protests

Image source, BackOffScotland

Labour MSP Monica Lennon calls for an emergency summit on abortion healthcare in response to anti-abortion rights action around the world.

The first minister replies that women have the right to access abortion without fear or intimidation.

She tells anti-abortion campaigners to protest outside the parliament and not outside hospitals.

Her government is actively considering the introduction of buffer zones.

"I am very happy to convene and indeed I will personally chair a round table summit to discuss buffer zones and indeed any other matters that need to be addressed to ensure safe access to abortion services in Scotland within the current law."

Alex Cole-Hamilton raises the issue of raw sewage going into Scotland's rivers and highlights The Ferret's investigation into it.

Scottish Water routinely dumps raw sewage every day, more than 30 times a day, with the true figure being "much, much worse".

The Scottish Lib Dem leader says this should not be allowed to happen.

Ms Sturgeon says she will look at the investigations made by the Ferret and accepts it is a serious issue.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister praises TV presenter Eilidh Barbour for taking a stand at the Scottish Football Writers' Association gala dinner on Sunday.

The organisation representing Scottish sports writers has apologised after an awards event speech prompted a walkout.

Ms Barbour was among guests who left Sunday's dinner in Glasgow.

She later tweeted that she had "never felt so unwelcome in the industry" while others have described the jokes as "sexist, racist and homophobic".

"It's male behaviour that we must see change," says the first minister.

Mr Sarwar quotes Nicola Sturgeon from 2003, saying of the then Scottish government that they have "the arrogance of a party in power too long and no longer believe the common values of decency and honesty apply to them".

“I can’t think of a more appropriate description of this government led by Nicola Sturgeon,” says the Scottish Labour leader.

The FM responds that the people of Scotland have had two opportunities in the last year to decide if her government has been in power too long, and "their answer has been pretty clear”.

She adds her government has established a full public inquiry into the issues at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.

Ms Sturgeon also says she has ended up the subject of investigations herself because she wasn’t prepared to cover up accusations against a former minister.

Mr Sarwar says no-one is asking the FM to reveal confidential details, just the outcome of any investigation into Fergus Ewing, the former rural economy secretary who “completely rejected” claims made against him by staff.

Ms Sturgeon says it is not a question of complaints being investigated but she will be at risk of breaching data laws if she answers questions on the subject.

Serious issues have to be “treated seriously and within the confines of the law”, the FM says.

Mr Sarwar says the SNP government operates in a “culture of secrecy and cover-up” – citing alleged “cover-ups” of other matters such as the “awarding of ferry contracts” and the “deaths of children in hospital”.

Image source, bbc

Background:

In 2020 we reported that the then Scottish Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing had "completely rejected" claims of bullying made against him by staff.

Sky News had reported that complaints were made by civil servants, external based in Edinburgh late in 2019.

Mr Ewing confirmed that a formal investigation process was under way.

But he told reporters at Holyrood that he rejected "all claims against me" and said he would make no further comment.

The Scottish government's code of conduct for ministers states that bullying "will not be tolerated", and there is a specific" fairness at work" policy process, external for handling complaints made by employees.

Image source, PA Media

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar asks the first minister if she can confirm how many investigations into bullying by current or former SNP cabinet ministers have been, if they have concluded and what the outcomes are?

Nicola Sturgeon says she is not in a position to get into these issues because of “very considerable” legal data protection issues she is bound by.

Governments have an obligation to be transparent but also a duty to abide by law on data protection, the FM says.

A complaint of this nature includes personal information and can only be made public if there is a lawful basis within GDPR - which is UK legislation rather than the Scottish parliament’s, she adds.

Let's hear from the deputy first minister why he gave the green light to this deal, calls Mr Ross.

"The stench of corruption and cover up is running through this whole sorry affair."

The first minister says it is not her job to help out "desperate Douglas Ross".

Ms Sturgeon accuses Mr Ross of selectively quoting from the email which shows Derek Mackay made the decision.

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Ross says the government's own ferry agency CMAL warned it about the risks and the legal advice did too.

The Scottish Tory leader says we still don't know why the first minister ignored all the banana skins.

He says Audit Scotland said last night that there remained insufficient information to explain the deal.

In government, finance secretaries are often consulted when money is being spent, says Ms Sturgeon.

The first minister reiterates that it was Derek Mackay who took the decision.

The basis of the decision is set out in the paperwork on 8 October, she says.

Image source, PA Media

Mr Ross argues Ms Sturgeon seems to not understand how emails work.

Quoting from the email chain, the Scottish Conservative leader says the decision was escalated to John Swinney, who couldn't find a single "banana skin" despite being surrounded by them,

He jokes there are "more banana skins in this project than there are in the monkey house in Edinburgh zoo".

Mr Ross says a redacted email could be unredacted by cutting and pasting it into another document - and it then reveals it mentions a risk of legal challenge.

"We all knew this was a bad deal, was it also unlawful?"

The first minister insists the deputy first minister was not the person who approved the deal, and was only briefed after the former transport minister had taken the decision.

Ms Sturgeon explains that the minister who took that decision was Derek Mackay and yesterday's e-mail establishes this beyond all doubt.

Mr Ross claims the the first minister's "operation blame Derek Mackay" over the fiasco has a fatal flaw.

The Scottish Conservative leader says the missing document - which has now been found - reveals that that the person who signed off on the deal was the deputy first minister John Swinney.

"Honest John's hands are all over this dodgy deal," he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister replies Douglas Ross is displaying his "own utter desperation".

Nicola Sturgeon insists John Swinney was simply briefed on the decision taken by Derek Mackay.

She says Douglas Ross is unlikely to ever know how government works.

Image source, PA Media

Background:

The Scottish government says it has found a missing email detailing which minister signed off a controversial CalMac ferry contract.

The government initially said it could not locate the document.

It now says it has found an email showing then Transport Minister Derek Mackay approved Ferguson Marine being given the contract to build the ferries.

The project is now five years behind schedule, and well over budget.

The two ferries are likely to cost more than £250m as opposed to the original price of £97m

A recent Audit Scotland report said the ferry deal was approved by ministers without normal financial safeguards being in place.

The report also found that there was "insufficient documentary evidence" about the decision to award the contract - which led to opposition parties demanding to see the "missing" document.

• Read more here
• Ferries deal awarded without financial safeguards
• Sturgeon: Buck stops with me over ferry deal
• Minister denies political gain in ferries contract

Douglas Ross gets to his feet to begin FMQs and his first question returns to the controversial CalMac ferry contract.

The Scottish Conservative leader says: "Yesterday the government finally found the missing document in their ferry fiasco."

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our live coverage of first minister's questions at Holyrood on 12 May 2022.

This is the first FMQs since the local government elections.

We're expecting the ferries row to rumble on today and the cost of living will also almost certainly feature.