John Swinney

Our values matter – and the SNP will always ensure the open, progressive values of the people of Scotland are reflected in how we act internationally.

It is right that we take specific action to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza – under my leadership Scotland will always stand with the people of Palestine, and support an independent, sovereign Palestine.

The Mack is a building that can be utilised as part of the future of Scotland.

We’ve got different approaches to business in place in Scotland, so there will be quite a large number of premises that are already exempt from business rates because of the small business bonus scheme.

I would obviously ask people in the region to follow all of the advice that is available and to respect the exclusion zone that’s been put in place.

People going around spouting hateful messages will not be tolerated by Police Scotland or this country.

It is essential that public safety is respected and that people respect the rule of law. That includes on hate crime.

I disagree with the far-right agenda, I disagree with the intolerance perpetuated.

Efforts to tackle the wildfire in the Cairngorms are in their tenth day, and changeable weather conditions have presented a range of challenges for those on the ground. I praise their resilience and tireless efforts to bring it under…

It is essential people avoid the affected areas for safety reasons and to allow responders to focus on tackling the wildfire.

This remains a major and serious incident, so it is still extremely important that people follow the advice of emergency services and the Cairngorms National Park.

The latest update I received on the situation in the Cairngorms shows an improved picture, however, as we have already seen, events can change very quickly due to the weather conditions.

A request has been made today to the UK Government for military assistance in aerial support that can be used to supplement existing resources that are being deployed to tackle the Cairngorms wildfire and we await a response.

The Prime Minister gave me an important assurance – which I very much welcome – that devolution of powers to Scotland which he's interested in taking forward would not be done over our heads.

I had a very constructive discussion with the Prime Minister.

There’s obviously a range of other tariffs being applied by President Trump, but for Scotch whisky, the tariffs are gone.

There’s got to be respect for the devolved settlement in Scotland, that’s what I look forward to advancing with the Prime Minister.

What the Prime Minister said to me yesterday, which is really significant, is that he is in favour of the devolution of more powers and responsibilities.

It’s not really a surprise to me the Prime Minister doesn’t agree with me on Scottish independence.

That is an incredible level of hypocrisy and it just illustrates what I think the Prime Minister is trying to address.

I think what it demonstrates is an appalling level of judgement by Anas Sarwar.

The new Prime Minister has made a great play of essentially improving people’s perceptions of politics and politicians.

I think it is a terrible look for Andy Burnham.

But what we’ve got to make sure is we take decisions that can stand up to scrutiny in the courts, and that’s what the UK Government’s got to do.

That way the energy wealth of Scotland can be used for the benefit of the people of Scotland.