Plenary, 22 Nov 2006

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Official Report 462KB pdf

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Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. This concerns a meeting of the Environment and Rural Development Committee on 15 November. After a vote in which Richard Lochhead, Eleanor Scott and I voted one way and the majority the other, Alasdair Morrison directed across the room the comment, "All the fascists."

I called for an immediate apology and withdrawal of the remark by Mr Morrison, but the convener claimed that she did not hear the remark. As the remark is noted in the Official Report, I raised a further point of order with the committee convener, Sarah Boyack, this morning, when she ruled that civil language ought to be used as per standing orders.

That comes on top of an incident raised in a point of order in the chamber on 24 February 2005 by Mr Morrison himself. He claimed that another MSP had, from a sedentary position, called him a fascist. Mr Morrison said:

"Presiding Officer, do you agree that this use of intemperate and highly inappropriate language is reprehensible; is to be deplored and is worthy of censure and referral to the Standards Committee for its deliberations?"—[Official Report, 24 February 2005; c 14823.]

Presiding Officer, could you advise the Environment and Rural Development Committee convener that an apology from Mr Morrison is in order and that the nasty slur made on me and my colleagues on 15 November must be withdrawn? Will you agree that such language unbecomes a member of the Parliament?

I am grateful for the advance notice of the point of order. Curiously, we had points of order earlier this afternoon that raised another matter, but in a similar vein. My ruling is the same as it was earlier this afternoon, which is that when a committee is in session, in essence the judgments and rights of the Presiding Officer are exercised by the convener of the committee. I judge, from the account that Mr Gibson has given of the exchanges, that the committee convener gave the only ruling that I would have been able to give, which is that members ought at all times to be courteous in their dealings with one another. I am happy to offer that general advice to everybody, but I am not in a position to tell the convener of any committee how that committee should handle its business, because it is clear that, under the standing orders, that is the responsibility of the committee convener. I hope that members will bear in mind that general advice at all times.