Chamber and committees

So, it is about having internal procedures to deal with harassment and bullying. You have also talked about the need for trust and people knowing that these things will be followed through.

My final question is on a fairly topical issue. This week—and recently, too—we have seen reports of sitting female politicians in good seats potentially facing deselection ahead of the 2026 elections. It is almost as if they have been paving the way for male candidates, and there is this sense of entitlement. I know that we are short of time, but does the panel have any suggestions as to how we can approach a situation in which personal, male or party interests trump, are seen as more important than or are prioritised ahead of attempts to widen representation?

Rebecca Mason, I see you are nodding your head. What would you say to that?

You have twinning. Do you also have zipping?

I thank Ruth Maguire for securing parliamentary time today for such an important topic.

Margaret Atwood said:

“A word after a word after a word is power”.

Everyone should be free to read and write, but women and girls in Afghanistan face what Human Rights Watch describes as

“the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis”.

What the Taliban is doing to women is spine chilling. As one Afghan woman said, the Taliban

“want us to die while we’re alive.”

It really is a real-life “The Handmaid’s Tale”. However, women will not be silenced. The 21 female writers in Afghanistan who authored “My Dear Kabul” after the capital fell showed tremendous courage. The organisation Untold Narrative supported those courageous female writers and others to share their stories beyond the walls of their home and the borders of their war-torn country. That bravery shows the power of the pen, and the importance of freedom of expression.

Since I was elected as an MSP, back in 2021, freedom of speech has loomed large over the political landscape. Legislation such as the controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 has facilitated discussion and debate over the balance of rights and the important question of who decides—who actually decides.

In December 2022, I attempted to attend the screening of the documentary “Adult Human Female” at the University of Edinburgh. I was shocked at the vitriol and aggression from the protesters who succeeded in preventing the screening from taking place on multiple occasions. Freedom of speech was censored in the very environment where it should be sacrosanct.

We have seen gender-critical female writers in Scotland such as Magi Gibson and Jenny Lindsay ostracised by publishers and Scotland’s cultural community for criticising gender identity ideology. In her latest book, “Hounded”, published by Polity, Jenny Lindsay has written about the human cost of speaking out and the cultural authoritarianism that she is experiencing and has experienced in Scotland. She said:

“the harms women face for speaking out are both disproportionate and anathema to the project of social, liberal democracy.”

Jenny is right. What is happening represents a slippery slope towards censorship and repression, and it is happening in Scotland. I thank Scottish PEN for issuing a robust defence of Jenny, calling out the culture of fear that has pervaded online communities and has prevented healthy criticism and debate.

It is often writers who are unwilling to surrender to moral cowardice, but they are also the ones who bear the human cost of refusing to stay silent. That cost might involve the loss of income, credibility, professional opportunity and their peers—or, as Ruth Maguire’s motion notes, it can mean persecution, imprisonment and death. We must speak out and we must stand against what is happening, and, ahead of the day of the imprisoned writer, we must remember all those writers who have lost their freedom and who have lost their lives for speaking freely.

I have repeatedly raised NHS Grampian’s ambulance-stacking crisis in the chamber, and I have been assured by the SNP Government that action is being taken to address it. However, this week, the chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service warned that there has been “little meaningful progress” towards reducing long waits for ambulances outside Aberdeen royal infirmary’s accident and emergency department. I say to the First Minister that enough is enough. Lives are at stake, especially as winter approaches. What urgent action is the Scottish Government going to take with NHS Grampian to fix this mess?

Will you explain what the current problems are in relation to accessing legal aid for environmental cases in Scotland?

As you say, those with the right to access legal aid do not include community groups. I should declare that I have spoken to environmental groups such as Save Our Mearns and Angus Pylon Action Group. What is your view of their right to access legal aid in relation to energy infrastructure?

In relation to the point about not being able to access legal aid, what is your view of the right to a public inquiry for community groups being taken away? I am particularly interested in cases where productive farmland, or the health and wellbeing of communities, is negatively affected. What is your view of the justice of that?

Professor Reid, you spoke about a lack of justice and unfair cracking of the whip. Do you have a view on this topic?

Do any other witnesses want to say anything about that subject?

Thank you. Unless you have deep pockets or get pro bono advice, there is no legal aid, so you are stuffed, really. You are nodding your heads. Thank you. Back to you, convener.