John Swinney sworn in as Scotland’s first minister
John Swinney has been legally sworn in as Scotland’s seventh first minister.
The 60-year-old is now Keeper of the Scottish Seal, also known as the Great Seal, after taking the oath of office and pledging his allegiance to the King.
The seal allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each one.
As Keeper of the Scottish Seal, Mr Swinney now has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the crown, which effectively means he can lead the country with the support of the Scottish parliament.
Mr Swinney taking the oath. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
The ceremony took place at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in front of Scotland’s most senior judge, the Lord President Lord Carloway.
Mr Swinney’s family, including his wife Elizabeth, brother David, and 13-year-old son Matthew, accompanied him to court.
Mr Swinney with wife Elizabeth and son Matthew. Pic: PA
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Mr Swinney said taking the oaths had been an “overwhelming moment” as he spoke of his pride at being first minister and his family’s support.
He said: “I look forward to dedicating my future to serving the people of Scotland.
“It’s an extraordinary opportunity to change lives for the better and I’ll continue to use every moment that’s available to me to do so.
“For my family this is a very abrupt change of our circumstances. We didn’t think this would happening about 10 days ago.”
Mr Swinney with his wife Elizabeth Quigley on the steps of Bute House on Tuesday. Pic: PA
Mr Swinney, who has replaced Humza Yousaf as SNP leader, is now expected to begin appointing his cabinet.
A “significant” role has been promised to former finance secretary Kate Forbes, who chose not to run in the SNP leadership race and instead threw her support behind Mr Swinney.
The first minister pledged to devote himself to the job after winning Holyrood’s backing. It came following the SNP leadership race in which he stood unopposed.
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Mr Swinney with former first ministers Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon. Pic: PA
Mr Swinney, who was deputy first minister under Nicola Sturgeon, previously said he is “no interim leader” and intends to lead the SNP beyond the next general and Scottish elections.
He has vowed to focus on the economy, jobs, the cost of living, the NHS, education, public services, and the climate crisis.
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Mr Swinney offers ‘eternal gratitude’ to his wife
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The first minister has confirmed he has no intention of reinstating the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens and will instead take issues on a case-by-case basis with a minority administration of 63 MSPs.
Mr Swinney told opposition parties at the Scottish parliament: “If we want to fund our schools and hospitals, if we want to give our businesses a competitive edge, if we want to take climate action, if we want to eradicate child poverty, if we want to change people’s lives for the better, we have got to work together to do so.”
He also thanked his wife Elizabeth, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), making clear his “profound eternal gratitude” to her for “the sacrifices she is prepared to make” so he could take on the job.
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The defence secretary has said he is “angry inside” over the infected blood scandal ahead of a long-waited report into the decades-long injustice.
Grant Shapps told Sky News he agreed it had been one of the most “shameful failures” of government and said he was dismayed by the “lack of anybody taking responsibility”.
The findings of a public inquiry into the scandal, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff, are due to be published on Monday.
From 1970 to the 1990s, tens of thousands of people were infected with contaminated blood through blood products or blood transfusions given via the NHS. People were infected with hepatitis or HIV – in some cases with both.
An estimated 3,000 people died as a result.
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Mr Shapps told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the scandal was a “massive injustice which needs to be put right” and said the government would act on the report.
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Thousands of people died after being given infected blood
He said that while he was yet to see the report, he hoped it would finally allow families’ pain and loss to be acknowledged and for the government to properly respond.
Mr Shapps said he had spoken to relatives of several victims, including a couple who had lost their son, and said their stories made feel him “angry inside”.
He added: “It just made me angry to know they had lost their son without anyone ever taking responsibility, so I think this is why this report tomorrow is very important.”
Successive governments have been blamed for failing to take responsibility and the current government has been accused of trying to delay compensation to victims after an inquiry was first set up by Theresa May in 2017.
It is estimated that the compensation bill could now exceed £10m.
The defence secretary admitted the process of delivering payouts to victims had gone on for “so long”.
He added: “This is a massive injustice which needs to be put right.
“And I know the government said we will. The report tomorrow, I think, will be the day for that family and others and I know the government will want to respond quickly.”
Asked whether Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would apologise to the victims, Mr Shapps said: “I don’t want to mislead because I don’t have special insight into that.”
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Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting also told Trevor Phillips that he expected “successive governments” to be criticised in the report by Sir Brian.
“Everyone has got their responsibility to bear in this appalling scandal and we have got a shared responsibility to put it right,” he said.
“The moment to act can’t come soon enough.”
Sir Brian is due to deliver his final report just after midday on Monday.
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