Tory MSP Douglas Ross barred from chamber after clash with Presiding Officer

Former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has been barred from Holyrood’s chamber on Wednesday afternoon as a result of a clash with the Presiding Officer.

Alison Johnstone ordered the Conservative MSP to leave the chamber on Tuesday evening after he questioned her impartiality.

She has now told the Highlands and Islands MSP he is to be excluded from the Scottish Parliament’s chamber for all of Wednesday’s business – which includes a key vote on the Scottish Government’s Budget.

It comes after Mr Ross questioned Ms Johnstone on Tuesday as MSPs prepared to vote, claiming the Presiding Officer interrupts points made by Conservatives but allowed SNP members “uninterrupted time” to raise issues about procedures in a point of order.

Ms Johnstone insisted then it was “not appropriate” for him to challenge her, adding she is “wholly impartial and fair” in her role.

She demanded he withdraw his comments, saying: “It is simply not appropriate in this Parliament that you challenge the decisions and the authority of the chair.”

When Mr Ross said he would withdraw the comments “even though I believe them”, the Presiding Officer said this was “not satisfactory”, telling him “regretfully” to leave the chamber.

In the wake of that, Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene tabled a motion at Holyrood to condemn the “repeated and enduring questioning and undermining of the authority and neutrality of the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament by members of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party group”.

The motion from Mr Greene, a former Tory MSP who defected to the Lib Dems, added that this “premeditated conduct brings individuals, their party and the entire Parliament into disrepute”.

Making clear his “unequivocal support for the Presiding Officer”, the motion said that “where appropriate” sanctions should be used to tackle this.

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “Douglas Ross has apologised to the Presiding Officer for refusing to leave the chamber last night and accepted his one-day ban from the chamber.

“The Scottish Conservatives remain focused on holding the SNP to account over the Lord Advocate tipping off John Swinney about the case involving Nicola Sturgeon’s husband.”