Scotland's Justice Secretary, Angela Constance, has been found to have unintentionally breached the ministerial code on two counts, an independent investigation has concluded.
The findings of the independent investigation
The probe, led by a trio of advisers to First Minister John Swinney, examined Ms Constance's conduct following a Holyrood debate in September 2025. The row centred on comments she made about Professor Alexis Jay, a leading expert on child sexual exploitation, during a discussion on the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Ms Constance had insisted that Professor Jay agreed with her that a public inquiry into grooming gangs in Scotland was unnecessary. However, emails later revealed the professor had contacted the Justice Secretary to state her comments had "nothing to do" with the Scottish context and asked for her position to be clarified.
What the breaches involved
The independent advisers—Claire Loftus, John Manzoni, and Ernest Ryder—identified two specific breaches. Firstly, they found Ms Constance's remarks about Professor Jay "had the potential to mislead parliament" and should have been corrected as soon as the expert's contrary view was communicated.
However, they were clear that the issue was "not about honesty or truthfulness" and there was no evidence she knowingly misled MSPs. The second breach related to a subsequent telephone apology Ms Constance made to Professor Jay, which was not attended by a Scottish government official as protocol requires.
The advisers characterised both breaches as "inadvertence without any deliberation or intention to mislead" and placed them at the "lower end of the spectrum" of severity.
Political repercussions and next steps
This finding comes after Ms Constance survived a vote of no confidence in December 2025 and received the full backing of First Minister John Swinney. Following the investigation's conclusion, the advisers recommended a formal written reprimand and for Ms Constance to address the Scottish Parliament.
Acting on this, Ms Constance made a statement to MSPs on Tuesday 6 January 2026, after Mr Swinney received the report. The Justice Secretary had previously stated she phoned Professor Jay to offer a "personal and direct apology" for the misunderstanding.
The incident has kept the Scottish Justice Secretary under significant political pressure for weeks, highlighting the ongoing sensitive debate around the handling of grooming gang cases in Scotland.
