Four minutes is not a lot of time in which to sum up the debate, so let me get straight to the point and start with the wise words of Stewart McDonald, the former MP who used to be the SNP’s spokesperson on defence. He has already been referenced by Stephen Kerr, but this is well worth repeating. This is what he said:

“Having worked hard on defence policy for my party when an MP, it pains me to see we are not evolving with the serious times we live in.”

Stewart McDonald, who is the SNP expert on defence, is absolutely right. In these uncertain times, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and now the war between Israel and Iran, the world is now undoubtedly a less stable place. It is therefore the most important task of any Government to provide security for the country and its people.

Mr McDonald had more to say. He said that we should be more ambitious in our support of Scotland’s domestic defence sector, while still maintaining our commitment to good human rights practice. Indeed, he said all that in the policy paper “Think Like a State, Act Like a State”. Despite John Swinney’s recent rhetoric about dusting down his aspiration for independence, the SNP’s attitude to defence clearly demonstrates that it is incapable of the grown-up thinking and action required. Instead, the defence industries are treated like a dirty little secret and, as we now know, the SNP would send forces personnel into the field with peashooters.

That is what lies behind the bonkers decision on Rolls-Royce. There was almost universal astonishment that the SNP Government withheld a grant of £2.5 million to Rolls-Royce for a welding centre. Why? In so far as I understand its thinking, it was because the people being trained might work on the construction of a submarine, which has munitions on it. The training opportunities and the good jobs that Rolls-Royce would have provided for people in west and central Scotland should have been welcomed. So, too, should the investment by the Malin Group in establishing a marine technology park in West Dunbartonshire.