Swinney's pressure as SNP record attacked and QEUH scandal revisited

The rammy of six men leading their parties to the May 7 election had plenty to go for when aiming to dismantle Mr Swinney’s standing and his party’s record.

But it was a letter from Kimberley Darroch, whose 10-year-old daughter Millie Main died after catching an infection at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, which cut through the noise.

Ms Darroch, said in a question read out at the STV leaders debate by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, that “politics was more important” to the First Minster “than my daughter”. She accused him of a “cover up”.

It comes after internal minutes of a meeting showed how there was “political pressure” to open the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow before it was safe.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar read out the question during the debate at the Signet Library in Edinburgh’s Parliament Square. He said he had read out the same questions five years ago when Nicola Sturgeon was FM. The tone of the event changed.

During the cross examination part of the debate, Mr Sarwar read a question from Ms Darroch which read: “My 10 year old daughter Milly Main died after being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, a hospital that your Government opened weeks before an election, before it was safe and ready.

“Milly was recovering from cancer, was she got an avoidable infection and died. We were never told the true cause of her death.

“That hospital was open despite warnings. It wasn't safe. People died.

“Children got infections. Staff were bullied and ignored, and we and other families have been gaslit for years.

“Why was I not told the truth, and why was there a cover up? Why was politics more important to you than my daughter?”

Mr Swinney replied: “I've expressed to you Anas [Sarwar] in parliamentary debate, and I've also discussed this issue with the families who have lost loved ones in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, my sympathy and my regret about the fact that they have suffered to the awful extent that they've suffered.

“When these issues came to light about the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, my late colleague Jeane Freeman constituted a public inquiry, and that public inquiry is exploring all of the issues and all of the detail.”

Mr Sarwar then gave a follow up question from Ms Darroch: “I know John Swinney will use the public inquiry as a cover to not answer questions to me and other families.”

The Scottish Labour leader went on: “I actually asked Nicola Sturgeon these very same questions five years ago, and she promised them that these families would get answers and they haven't.

”The promise I make is this is, if I'm First Minister, these families will get the truth and the justice they deserve, not the cover ups and the secrecy that has become the hallmark of John Swinney and the SNP.”

But the SNP leader was also on the front foot at time, accusing Scottish Reform leader Malcolm Offord of having “poisoned the campaign”.

In turn, Mr Offord came under a fair amount of pressure. He bragged that he owns “six houses, five cars and six boats”, when he was grilled by Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer.

In his cross examination, Mr Swinney asked Mr Sarwar about Labour MPs voting against a Commons probe into whether Keir Starmer misled parliament.

But Mr Sarwar quickly turned the tables on the First Minister: “That's not what the vote was, John, that's not what the vote was today: a party political stunt, that actually was the SNP reform and the Tories joining forces nine days out from an election.

“I thought you don't want to work with Reform. I'm very clear about calling out the actions and the failures whenever I see it.

“That's the difference between you and I, because you were part of a party when two of the last three SNP First Ministers were arrested by Police Scotland, and you stayed by their side.

“You were the man that appointed Peter Murrell to be the chief executive of the SNP, and you take no responsibility at all with what's happening.

“So when we talk about the ferries or the prisons, the question I have for you is: why is the SNP always good at losing money?”

Mr Swinney replied: “The money goes to support the people of Scotland.”

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay criticised the SNP’s plans to cap supermarket prices for household goods as a “PR stunt” in the opening debate.

Mr Findlay said: “I cannot believe John Swinney is standing there with a straight face saying that he's going to legislate to fix supermarket prices.

“He knows it's completely unrealistic, it's dishonest, it's a PR stunt for an election.

“In every country around the world where governments have attempted to meddle in the free market, what happens is prices don't go down, John, they only go up.”

Mr Swinney went on the offensive against Reform’s Malcolm Offord, urging him to “apologise for how you’ve soured this campaign”. Mr Offord said he would not say sorry.

The FM said: “You and your party have poisoned this campaign with racist, intolerant and homophobic views.

“Will you take the opportunity of this debate to apologise for how you’ve soured this campaign?”

Lord Offord replied: “I will not apologise for going on the record and saying, honestly, the people of Scotland are concerned about the real issues.”

The war of words between Mr Sarwar and Lord Offord flared once more, when the Scottish Labour leader accused him of being a “Tory in disguise”.

“You back the politics that gave us Brexit, austerity, Boris Johnson and Liz truss. You've called for NHS charges. You've had candidates accused of stealing Covid money.

“You've had candidates who back Tommy Robinson and call for mass deportations. You yourself have called for Catholic schools to be shut down.

“So let's just be honest. You are new or on the side of working class communities. You're just a Tory in disguise, aren’t you?” His views on Catholic schools - which he reportedly said were sectarian - were also called into question.

Lord Offord said he had been “misrepresented”.