John Swinney

It is crystal clear that the UK Government’s destructive tax regime is harming investment and jobs in Scotland – and the new Prime Minister must look at this issue as a matter of urgency.

The King’s Theatre is an iconic landmark and a prized part of Edinburgh’s identity and heritage and I have such fond memories of coming to the theatre as a child.

The reimagined model of these Games will help them continue into the future, creating hosting opportunities for other Commonwealth countries – with a focus on inclusivity and innovative approaches to reduce the environmental impact.

People who have travelled to Scotland for the Games have experienced our world-class hospitality, which has been an excellent boost for our tourism sector and wider economy.

The success of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games has shown Scotland at its very best.

I hope that the Glasgow Games will encourage future generations to continue and build on this legacy of sporting greatness.

Whether or not they took home a medal, the men and women competing at the highest level have demonstrated a strength and resilience to inspire all of us.

We’ve enjoyed some truly historic performances from Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games – in swimming, bowls, athletics to name a few.

BP’s decision to sell its North Sea business marks a time of real uncertainty for workers, their families and communities across the north east.

Westminster’s supertax on jobs is hurting Scotland, especially the north east. The UK Government must scrap the Energy Profits Levy and urgently act to protect jobs.

I MADE it clear to him that I intend to continue to pursue the importance of the democratic right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future should be respected.

We’ve got all the help we need on the ground, but we just needed additional aerial water spreading capacity and the UK Government doesn’t have that – I’m not rejecting anything, they just haven’t got anything to offer us.

The UK Government does not have such resources – that’s the only thing that we need, we don’t need any other help.

The Scottish Government asked the UK Government for help in one particular issue, which was about aerial firefighting capacity – that is, to drop water from helicopters onto the fire.

There was plenty of hateful behaviour being demonstrated at these demonstrations at the weekend.

I fully support Police Scotland and the effective measures that they took to bring the situation under control and I look forward to those responsible being brought to justice.

I thought the behaviour at the demonstrations was totally and utterly unacceptable, it is just unworthy of our streets to have the far-right rhetoric that was spewed out onto our streets, and the violence that went with it.

It was a demonstration of far-right hatred within the city of Glasgow at a time when the city was also welcoming representatives of 74 Commonwealth countries in a joyful set of sporting occasions throughout the city.

I condemn unreservedly the behaviour that was undertaken at the weekend.

We live in a democracy and people have the right to protest but the behaviour on the weekend was absolutely and completely unacceptable.

Through the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund, the extra financial support that I am announcing today will help deliver vital assistance including food, healthcare, clean water, shelter and protection services, reaching…

This additional £500,000 contribution reflects the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to helping people affected by this humanitarian crisis.

In Gaza and the West Bank, civilians are still being killed by Israeli forces, families are still living in fear, and millions of people are still in urgent need of humanitarian support.

I look forward to doing that to turn the mandate that I received from the people of Scotland into reality.

Scotland’s energy should be in Scotland’s hands.