There were a number of questions there. I learned about the issue over the weekend, at the same time as everybody else. I am pleased that Creative Scotland acted swiftly in announcing its review.

Up until now, I have been pleased that there has been cross-party consensus in the Parliament in relation to the fact that Creative Scotland is an arm’s-length, independent organisation. I am sure that everybody is very keen that politicians and Government do not stray into areas of creative expression. We have an arm’s-length organisation that has very clear rules about how public funds are to be applied for and about their purpose, and that is what is being examined.

I expect that Creative Scotland will report back quickly, and we will no doubt return to discuss the conclusions of its review as soon as we learn them.

I share the concerns that have been raised, including by Creative Scotland itself. I see no way in which what has been described should be in receipt of public funding.

As members are aware, the Scottish Government has no role in the decisions of Creative Scotland on the funding of individual projects. However, I understand that Creative Scotland is rapidly reviewing that allocation, as it is clear that what has been reported simply does not meet what was indicated when the funding was applied for. I look forward to Creative Scotland sharing its conclusions, and I will update members, including Neil Bibby, soon.

Will Neil Bibby give way?

He should sit down.

Given Mr Golden’s welcome words about international engagement, will he take this opportunity to praise the work of Scottish Development International in promoting trade, or the Scottish Government’s international network of offices that do so much to promote Scotland abroad? Will he put that on the record?

As Neil Bibby should know, the right of passage for any vessel—conventional or nuclear, armed or powered—is guaranteed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That is a statement of fact.

This debate follows yesterday’s publication of the latest paper in the Scottish Government’s “Building a New Scotland” series, “An independent Scotland’s place in the world”, which sets out the values, principles and practical action that the Government believes should guide our international relations as an independent country.

Tomorrow, members in the House of Commons debating chamber will hear why independence for Scotland is essential and urgent. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out tax and spending plans within the context of a failing United Kingdom economy that is characterised by low growth, low productivity, low investment, poor living standards and high inequality.

Crucially, the chancellor is likely to ignore the economic calamity of a Brexit that has already wiped billions of pounds from the Scottish economy, compared with what we would have had with European Union membership. Brexit has worsened the cost of living crisis and left the United Kingdom looking increasingly isolated on the world stage.

Tragically and disastrously, the Labour Party is now fully signed up to Brexit, which means that it is fully signed up to the economic damage of leaving the EU, no matter the cost to Scotland. Although the Labour Party likes to talk about economic growth as its top priority, that is simply incompatible with its embracing of a hard Brexit that will see Scotland excluded not just from the EU, but from the huge European single market. That is the context for the paper that was published yesterday and for today’s motion.

When the Conservatives and Labour turned their backs on our fellow Europeans, they instead proposed a vision of what they call “global Britain”, which is apparently a buccaneering free-trading nation that has been released from what they saw as the shackles of the European Union. That vision has been a total economic and a diplomatic failure. One foreign affairs commentator described the so-called global Britain strategy as

“So sad. This politically illiterate, unilateralist international posturing is unreal. It’s un-realist. It’s humiliating for Britain, and it’s bound to fail.”

The Scottish Government, by contrast, is internationalist to its core. It is committed to multilateral organisations and to the principle of co-operation as we seek to tackle the great global challenges that affect us all.

I look forward to hearing the member’s speech; I hope that he has something positive to contribute. I will make progress, Presiding Officer.

People in the rest of the UK will, of course, always be Scotland’s closest friends. As an independent country, there will be many issues on which we will agree with the rest of the UK. There is no difference, for example, between the position of the UK Government and the Scottish Government on Russia’s barbaric and illegal invasion of Ukraine. However, we take different positions on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and on perhaps the most fundamental of foreign policy issues—our relationship with our fellow Europeans. People in Scotland want to go in a very different direction from that which is proposed by all the Westminster parties.

Within the constraints of the powers of the Scottish Parliament, Scotland has a strong record of international engagement, from our bilateral review with Ireland to our work on Arctic connections, as well as our international development programme. There are those across the Westminster parties who would want to see those powers constrained even further and for that work to be stopped. However, Scotland is not defined as a devolved Administration; we are an ancient nation, and my party, the Scottish National Party, and our partners in the Scottish Greens have an internationalist outward-looking vision for our country.

Independence offers Scotland the chance to play a full role internationally and to determine the kind of state that we want to be—one that promotes and protects human rights, acts on our values and principles and builds partnerships with others to address global challenges. Independence would allow Scotland to pursue Scottish interests internationally by focusing on the issues that matter most to people, communities and businesses here, while demonstrating our commitment to shared rules and international standards. As a new state with new powers, an independent Scotland would have the opportunity to make a fresh start and structure its diplomacy, working relationships and priorities accordingly, while not overlooking the legacy of its past.

Our ambition is to be represented at every level of European Union decision making and able to influence decisions and promote Scotland’s interests. With membership of the EU, people here would once again benefit from EU citizenship and the right to study, work and live right across Europe. As part of the world’s largest single market, an independent Scotland’s businesses would gain access to almost 450 million consumers without the barriers to trade that they face because of Brexit. They would also benefit from the opportunities that come from the EU’s ability to secure advantageous trade arrangements.

Today, though, we also look beyond Europe to the wider world. “An independent Scotland’s place in the world” sets out how an independent Scotland would take its place in the international community alongside 193 other United Nations member states, building relationships in pursuit of our international priorities.

The protection of the nation and its people is a first duty of every Government, and that would be no different in an independent Scotland. The Scottish Government proposes that an independent Scotland would apply to join NATO and would seek discussions with NATO leaders at the earliest opportunity following a vote for independence. As with the EU and the UN, there is much that we can offer as a NATO member. Scotland occupies a position of strategic importance, close to the high north and Arctic and facing out to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. An independent Scotland would therefore be a key strategic partner in the collective defence of northern Europe.

We would commit to defence spending of 2 per cent of gross domestic product and would make democratic accountability a cornerstone of defence policy, so that an independent Scotland would participate in overseas military operations only if they were lawful, approved by Scottish ministers and authorised by the Parliament.

The Scottish Government is also clear that nuclear weapons would be removed from Scotland in the quickest and safest way possible after independence. That is entirely consistent with NATO membership, as 23 of the 31 current members neither possess nor host nuclear weapons.

Yes, absolutely. The Scottish Government supports the objectives of the international Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. As the paper makes clear, the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland is a key priority, with a commitment to constitutional prohibition, which would mean that Scotland would be a non-nuclear-hosting NATO member state, just like our neighbours Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

As well as defence co-operation through NATO, the Scottish Government would participate fully in the EU’s common security and defence policy. In doing so, an independent Scotland would join the family of nations that are committed to the international rules-based system, playing an important role in peacekeeping operations, conflict prevention and the strengthening of international security.

The third pillar of an independent Scotland’s defence and security policy would be our relationships with our nearest neighbours in the UK and Ireland. An independent Scotland would build on our strong relationships with the other nations and Governments across these isles to assure mutual safety.

All of that would be considered in a comprehensive expert-led defence and security review that the Government would commission following a vote for independence. That would ensure that, by independence day, Scotland had the appropriate capabilities to protect and defend its borders, citizens, democracy and economic interests.

We would work with like-minded partners to advance an ambitious and progressive agenda, guided by our interests and values, including those that we share with the European Union, of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. In line with those values, the Government would commit to meeting the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on official development assistance, thereby helping to contribute to a more stable world. Multilateral connections would be an important way for an independent Scotland to achieve impact, through the United Nations, the World Bank and, of course, the European Union.

Even with the limited powers that we currently have, Scotland has managed to develop a reputation for our commitment to addressing the climate emergency. Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss would continue to be a top priority, as would focusing on fair and just climate action towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions and a more sustainable future. That would include building on our already deep and long-standing connection with Commonwealth countries from Canada to Malawi, and our growing connections with many others, including Rwanda and Pakistan.

Following independence, Scotland would actively participate in the Commonwealth as a consensus-based multilateral forum that gives equal weight to countries’ voices, no matter their size. To achieve that level and breadth of international engagement, an independent Scotland would have a dedicated international network, deploying the full range of diplomatic functions to promote and protect Scottish interests.

A further benefit of EU membership is that citizens of an independent Scotland who are in need of emergency assistance would be able to access the consular services of more than 2,100 EU member state missions around the world, which is significantly more than the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office currently has.

Independence would mean a new and better relationship with our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom—one in which we work together as equals to co-operate on shared challenges, with a renewed Scottish democracy being a force for good across these islands.

Today’s debate is about issues that are central to Scotland’s future. Indeed, it speaks to two very different futures—being inside the EU or outside it; being a part of the huge European single market or living with a hard Brexit; having a voice for Scotland as a member of the international community of nations or being subject to attempts to silence that voice; having a nuclear-free Scotland or spending billions of pounds on Trident; and being in a partnership of equals with our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom or in a Westminster system that is uninterested in Scotland’s concerns.

It was some decades ago that the former Presiding Officer and president of the Scottish National Party said:

“Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on”.

That is more relevant now than it has ever been. Scotland has the opportunity to take its place in the international fora and communities of nations—in the United Nations, in the European Union, in NATO—while working with our neighbours and allies on these islands.

I move,

That the Parliament believes that Scotland should be able to take its place in the world as a sovereign nation that acts based on its values and principles, working towards peace, sustainability and security as a good global citizen, and in the interests of its people.

A majority of MSPs wish to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as do a majority of members of Parliament from Scotland at Westminster. What has the UK Government done to deliver on the views of this Parliament or the majority of our parliamentarians?