Source:- Sky News

The Scotland Education Secretary has turned down calls from the opposition for independent advisers who oversee the ministerial code to look into Justice Secretary Angela Constance. This is because there is still a lot of controversy over what she said about grooming gangs and a well-known child protection expert.

During an appearance on BBC Scotland Education Secretary's Sunday Show, Jenny Gilruth defended her cabinet colleague and told politicians to move on from the argument and focus on the victims of child sexual abuse instead of the demands for an ethics investigation from the Conservatives.

Opposition parties have accused Constance of lying to the Scottish Parliament when she said that Professor Alexis Jay, a top expert on grooming gangs, did not support more investigations into child sexual abuse and exploitation. Some people say that the justice secretary lied about what the academic said when he spoke out against a Conservative amendment to a victims bill that called for a separate investigation into grooming gangs.

Gilruth said that Constance's comments were made in a general way and were true to what Professor Jay thought at the time. She went on to say that clarification had been given and that the problem should now be seen as solved.

Gilruth said, "I think it's true that there were a number of exchanges between the justice secretary and other MSPs if you look at the official report like I have." "From what I read, it was a general comment about the overall approach, and it was an accurate quote of what Alexis Jay thought in January of this year."

Gilruth said that there had been a request for more information about the minutes of a strategic group meeting, but that this had been taken care of. "That was taken care of, and I think it's important that we move on with giving that reassurance," she said.

The argument started in September when Constance opposed a Conservative amendment to Scotland's victims bill that called for a formal investigation into grooming gangs. During a debate at Holyrood, the justice secretary told MSPs that Professor Jay did not want more investigations into child sexual abuse. This claim was later questioned.

Emails from the government that were later made public showed that Professor Jay had contacted officials to explain her position. She wrote that her comments against more investigations were made "in the context of the England and Wales Public Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse, which I chaired."

She went on to say that her comments had "nothing to do with the amendment or the situation in Scotland," as you could have understood from your statement. Professor Jay also told Scottish ministers to get "reliable data" on grooming gangs and asked for her position to be made clear to the public.

Last month, the Scottish government sent out meeting notes that made things clearer, but opposition parties have criticized the decision not to make a formal statement correcting the record in the Holyrood chamber. Conservatives say that this failure makes parliament less accountable and have asked for Constance to be sent to the independent advisers who are in charge of making sure that the ministerial code is followed.

Constance has stood by her comments, calling them "accurate," even though they have been criticized more and more. First Minister John Swinney has also supported her. The justice secretary is also likely to survive a vote of no confidence later this week, mostly because Scottish Green MSPs, who support the minority SNP government on important votes, are backing him.

Opposition parties, on the other hand, say that the issue goes beyond political disagreement and raises serious concerns about how sensitive child protection issues are handled and how open the government is. They say that lying about expert advice could make people less confident in the government's efforts to stop child sexual exploitation.

The Scotland Education Secretary Scottish government has always defended its record on dealing with child abuse by pointing to existing systems and ongoing work to make data collection and victim support better. Ministers have said that their main goal is still to stop abuse and help survivors, not start new investigations.

As the no-confidence vote gets closer, the political fallout from the fight doesn't seem to be getting any better. But with senior officials rallying around Constance and coalition support holding strong, the justice secretary seems likely to get through this crisis, even though questions about accountability and clarity continue to be heard at Holyrood.

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