John Swinney has insisted that the Scottish Government is giving “every serious consideration” to calls for a grooming-gangs inquiry, telling MSPs he has personally talked about the issue with Professor Alexis Jay.

The First Minister denied claims from Tory MSP Pam Gosal that ministers were “sticking their heads in the sand” over the issue.

"There are complexities about the interaction on the call that has been made with the child-abuse inquiry that we have already statutorily established,” he told MSPs on Thursday.

“There are no straightforward ways through this issue, but I assure Parliament that the Government is giving every serious consideration to this important issue.”

Read more

He added that this week he had held meetings with Police Scotland, the National Child Sexual Ex

See Full Page