The First Minister has form. He was the human shield for Nicola Sturgeon during the parliamentary inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints. He was the one who did everything that he could to withhold information from the committee and he operated a culture of secrecy and spin. It took the threat of a no confidence vote in this chamber before the committee saw any of that legal advice.

History now repeats itself and John Swinney is at the centre of this debacle, too. There is more spin and secrecy, and there is now a new low. The suggestion that the civil servant seconded to James Hamilton’s inquiry provided information, directly or indirectly, to the Scottish Government raises huge questions about the independence of the process. That doubt about independence could now apply to other public inquiries in which civil servants are seconded to be the secretariat.

Given the need for integrity and good governance, I echo the call for a judge-led inquiry. The First Minister should really agree to that—unless, of course, he has something to hide.