Douglas Ross excluded from parliament after row with presiding officer

The former Scottish Conservative leader has now been told he must apologise to Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone in front of the whole debating chamber.

He has been excluded from all chamber business on Wednesday 25 February, which means he will not be allowed to vote on the Scottish Government’s 2026/27 budget.

Earlier on Wednesday it was reported Mr Ross had apologised to Ms Johnstone after questioning her impartiality.

He refused to leave the debating chamber on Tuesday evening, and security was called to intervene. The row erupted as MSPs debated a bill which would have allowed voters to sack their MSP.

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Mr Ross, who has repeatedly questioned Ms Johnstone’s impartiality in the past, claimed the presiding officer was interrupting Conservative MSPs but not interrupting SNP MSPs.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Parliament said: “The presiding officer has notified Douglas Ross MSP he is excluded from the chamber for all of today’s business.

“The presiding officer is exercising her authority under standing order rule 7.3.3(a).

“In a letter issued shortly before 1pm, the presiding officer further informed Mr Ross he will be expected to apologise to parliament as a whole on Thursday for his conduct, and that should he fail to do so, the matter will be referred to the bureau to consider further action under rule 7.3.3(b).

“The presiding officer made clear to Mr Ross that she exercises all of her functions as presiding officer ‘in the interest of all members equally, acting impartially at all times, and will continue to do so’.”