On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Today at First Minister’s question time, the First Minister said that he had a letter from the European Commission’s secretariat-general that implies that an independent Scotland could apply for European Union membership from within. He omitted to say a number of other things about that letter. He omitted to say that it goes on to undermine entirely the points that the First Minister made. He omitted to say that it was not a response from the EC to the Scottish Government. As the First Minister’s official spokesman confirmed this lunch time, the First Minister omitted to say that he does not know who the letter was sent to or what that person asked, and that they had found this random letter through a trawl of the internet.
As the member is aware, and as I have said again and again, as recently as yesterday, the Presiding Officer has never been, is not, and cannot be responsible for the contents of members’ speeches in the chamber.