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At this point I am going to be prised out of the chair.
Will Mr Gallie accept a point of order?
Yes, certainly.
I am a little concerned about something that Roseanna did this morning. She gave an interview on "Good Morning Scotland", a Radio Scotland programme, that dealt with the affairs of this committee. My transcript may be wrong, but the interview began with a statement that the Scottish National party is to campaign for a change in the law to protect women from stalkers. The shadow justice minister then described the change that she wants. To me, that seems an inappropriate attempt to set an agenda for this committee and to pre-empt our decision about what we will consider.
Every one of us has political responsibilities. We have all been nominated and selected under—let us say—political banners. We all have a right to speak out on party issues as and when we feel it appropriate. There is nothing in the standing orders to stop members playing special roles in their parties and carrying out a full committee work load. There is no reason to rule out any member of the committee. Nothing Roseanna said this morning rules her out of being elected convener. She made those comments as an SNP spokesman and, to judge from what Gordon said, they did not preclude her speaking as the convener of this committee.
I nominate Roseanna Cunningham.
I second the nomination.
I have a nominator and seconder. Is anyone otherwise minded? I reluctantly hand over the chair to Roseanna and wish her well in the task.
Roseanna Cunningham was elected convener by acclamation.
Thank you. I give a big welcome to all members of this committee—even to Gordon Jackson. I will, from time to time, be heard on the radio in my capacity as shadow justice spokesperson. I hope that what I say will be widely agreed by other parties: it is not my perception that this committee will always be heavily party political. We are dealing with justice matters and it has not been my impression—except in a few cases—that there are strongly drawn party lines. This is an area of the Government's work in which we ought to be able to reach a committee decision a little more easily than might be possible in other areas.