As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-day, I have found myself reflecting on a particular evening during the 2016 election campaign, when I knocked on a door not too far from here. The door was answered by a 96-year-old gentleman, who invited me in to admire his collection of bagpipes. Not only that, but he taught me my first ever bagpipe lesson. What blew me away was that those were the pipes that he had used to bring the troops ashore at Sword beach in Normandy on D-day 80 years ago. I reflect on his memory. Sadly, he has since passed away, as have all too many veterans. This may be the last time that we commemorate such an anniversary alongside people who were actually there. We reflect on their sacrifice on the altar of freedom, for the cause of democracy and against the tyranny of Nazism, and we will remember them.

To ask the Deputy First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet. (S6F-03197)

The Cabinet will next meet on Tuesday.

In the early hours of 5 July 2015, John Yuill and Lamara Bell were returning from a camping trip when their car left the road on the M9. The police were alerted to the crash but did not turn up for three days. All the while, Lamara was still alive, trapped, calling for help. She may have survived if help had arrived sooner. In the weeks beforehand, my party had been warning about the chaos in the call centre at Bilston Glen, which was caused by the rushed centralisation of the police by the Scottish National Party Government. John Swinney was Deputy First Minister at the time.

The fatal accident inquiry system is so broken that it has taken nine years to report on the deaths of John and Lamara, with final conclusions published only last week. Will the Deputy First Minister accept that her Government has failed on two counts? The first is the botched centralisation that contributed to the tragedy in the first place, and the second is the intolerable wait for answers that the families have had to endure.

I start by expressing my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Lamara Bell and John Yuill. When the situation happened, the former justice secretary, in his statement to Parliament following the court ruling, was quite clear about giving our deepest apologies. The former chief constable has also apologised unreservedly to the families, and I repeat that this afternoon.

On Alex Cole-Hamilton’s points, it is important that we start by looking at the lessons that have been learned. All the recommendations of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s independent review into Police Scotland’s contact, command and control division have now been implemented. I note that the fatal accident inquiry found that lessons have been learned and that the public should have confidence in Police Scotland’s ability to respond to the calls made.

Alex Cole-Hamilton also made a point about the fatal accident inquiry. Obviously, the conduct of investigations that lead to fatal accident inquiries is a matter for the Lord Advocate and her staff, acting independently of Government. However, I understand that the issue has been raised with the Solicitor General, who has indicated that she is willing to come back to Parliament to answer questions more fully.