Murdo Fraser: “If John Swinney is serious about finally reforming the public sector, then he needs to rein in salary costs which are…”

Ivan McKee as the minister responsible should come clean as to why these numbers have increased and if he is doing any work to bring staffing costs under control.

Any new chair – even on an interim basis – must be given the support and resources required by SNP ministers to finally fix the toxic culture that has engulfed HES for far too long.

These figures confirm it is just lip service when SNP ministers have pledged to get serious about reining in their growing army of civil servants.

Historic Environment Scotland has lurched from one crisis to the next for years, and these latest developments make it impossible to dismiss the problems as isolated incidents.