Following the decision of the Policy and Sustainability Committee on October 24, 2023 it was agreed that the Council and Police Scotland would issue a joint statement for Islamophobia Awareness Month.
Joint statement from Councillor Cammy Day, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council, and Edinburgh Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Sean Scott from Police Scotland:
‘Edinburgh is characterised and strengthened by its diversity across our communities, and we remain committed to ensuring that the Capital remains a safe, tolerant, and welcoming city for all.
‘We are unequivocal in our condemnation of all prejudice and intolerance – neither of which have any place here in Edinburgh or across our society.
‘We acknowledge the impact of hate incidents and crimes on victims, their families, and wider communities and will work together with them to tackle Islamophobia and all other forms of hate crime.
‘We will continue to work with groups who have lived experience of Islamophobia, and we will use their insights to further inform our work. Engagement with these communities is rightly at the heart of our approach to tackling discrimination and reassuring our residents.
‘We know that hate crime is under-reported and we are working closely with victims, communities, and partners to build confidence in the process and its outcomes. If you are affected by hate or know of someone who is, please report it. Find out about the different ways to report hate incidents.
‘Within both our own organisations, we are fully committed to broadening our understanding of Islam and combatting Islamophobia through a range of learning and development activities, such as community visits, webinars, and workshops.
‘Please get in touch if you need our help or if you would like to work with us on stamping Islamophobia out once and for all.’
This week marks the start of Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) 2023, which aims to raise awareness of Islamophobia and its prevalence in Scotland.
Figures show that many people are still subject to Islamophobic abuse, which can include harassment, hate speech, violent attacks, religious profiling and being prejudiced against Muslims. IAM seeks to demonstrate the effect of Islamophobia and how it can be tackled, in addition to the positive contributions of Muslims in the UK.
The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Challenging Racial & Religious Prejudice recently received an update on its 2021 inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland.
The 2021 inquiry found that 75% of Muslims say that Islamophobia is a regular or everyday issue in Scottish society. 78% of Muslims in Scotland believed that Islamophobia was getting worse, which rose to 82% of Muslim respondents with a Glasgow postcode.
Over 80% of all Muslim respondents to the survey have a friend or family member who has experienced Islamophobia.
The update received by the CPG earlier this week re-launched the Islamophobia Inquiry recommendations, with Convener Foysol Choudhury MSP highlighting that Islamophobia is still a prevalent issue in Scotland and that key recommendations such as improving on the reporting and recording of Islamophobia in schools should be urgently progressed.
Lothian MSP Foysol Choudhury, who is the new Convener of the CPG taking over from colleague Anas Sarwar MSP, is encouraging constituents to talk about these experiences during Islamophobia Awareness Month, to raise awareness that these problems do exist and people are facing them daily.
Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “Islamophobia is still such a big issue for all Muslims and we need to find a way to eradicate the abuse and hatred urgently, to help those who face issues with Islamophobia on a daily basis.
“I have been raising in the Scottish Parliament the issue of how the Scottish Government will ensure that all police officers will be able to fully investigate all reported hate crimes, so people will then hopefully feel more comfortable going to the police about the abuse and hatred they receive.”
Following his previous work on Islamophobia, Foysol Choudhury is continuing to encourage people this month to share their experiences and speak out: “I really want to make sure people feel enabled to speak out about their issues, to give support to those who face hate or abuse because of their membership to religious communities.
“It is my hope that this will then create a more peaceful Scotland for everyone, free from any kind of religious intolerance or hatred.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Firefighter Barry Martin.
Interim Chief Officer Ross Haggart said: “It is with profound sadness that I confirm, on behalf of his family, that Barry Martin has passed away this afternoon following the serious injuries he sustained during a large-scale fire at the former Jenners building in Edinburgh.
“Barry, who was being treated at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, had been in a critical condition since Monday’s fire.
“I speak for the entire Service when I say that we are all devastated by the loss of Barry and our thoughts remain with his family, friends and colleagues at this deeply distressing time.
“Both Barry’s family and the Service have been overwhelmed with the messages of support we have received and we thank everyone for the time they have taken to share these.
“Barry’s family would also like to thank all the medical staff who have cared for him.
“I would now ask that we all allow Barry’s family, friends and colleagues to grieve in private.”
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor QPM said: “Officers and staff work day in, day out, right across Scotland to protect the vulnerable and keep people safe.
“We are resolute in our determination to address sexism, misogyny and violence against women, within our organisation and across society.
“Police Scotland has already strengthened vetting measures, introducing an additional check for new recruits just before they are sworn into office and we will commence a rolling programme to review vetting decisions this year.
“We have recently invested in our vetting team and take relevant action where concerns emerge.
“To further enhance our ability to safeguard our values and standards, all officers and staff will be checked against national systems, in line with work being taken forward in England and Wales.
“It is right policing is held to high standards. We will always support officers and staff acting with our values and standards at heart.
“Those who reject what we stand for don’t belong in Police Scotland.”
Following the Scottish Government’s budget announcement last week which proposes a reduction in funding for Creative Scotland of around £7million (more than 10%) – the Board of Creative Scotland met yesterday, 19 December, to discuss the implications of this settlement.
Whilst the Board fully appreciates the challenging context in which the Scottish Government has reached its decision, and the pressures that are being felt by everyone across all parts of society, we are extremely disappointed by the settlement.
It comes at a time of significant pressures for cultural organisations due to the impact of the pandemic, rising inflation, falling income and spiralling operating costs, when the value of culture and creativity to people’s lives has never been more important.
In an effort to address this, at its meeting today, the Creative Scotland Board has agreed to use a proportion of its National Lottery reserves to maintain funding for Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs) at 2022/23 levels.
National Lottery reserves have been accumulated and earmarked to ease the transition to the new funding framework. Using these reserves to cover the reduction in Scottish Government funding means that Creative Scotland will no longer have the flexibility of using these funds for other support, including the potential for an RFO supplementary fund previously referred to in our Future Funding for Organisations update on 3 November.
National Lottery reserves are finite and therefore can only be a time-limited solution to address Scottish Government budget reductions in 2023/24. As the Scottish Government budget does not give any indication of funding for 2024/25 and beyond, we cannot confirm RFO funding levels for 2024/25.
Creative Scotland will continue to act responsibly and pragmatically, however, if Scottish Government cuts continue beyond 2023/24, Creative Scotland will require to pass those on to the sector.
All other 2023/24 budget areas will be reviewed and published in our 2023/24 Annual Plan in Spring 2023.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s statement on the steps of Downing Street
Good morning, I have just been to Buckingham Palace and accepted His Majesty The King’s invitation to form a government in his name.
It is only right to explain why I am standing here as your new Prime Minister.
Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis.
The aftermath of Covid still lingers.
Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over.
I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss, she was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country, it is a noble aim.
And I admired her restlessness to create change.
But some mistakes were made.
Not borne of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless.
And I have been elected as leader of my party, and your Prime Minister, in part, to fix them.
And that work begins immediately.
I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda.
This will mean difficult decisions to come.
But you saw me during Covid, doing everything I could, to protect people and businesses, with schemes like furlough.
There are always limits, more so now than ever, but I promise you this
I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.
The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves.
I will unite our country, not with words, but with action.
I will work day in and day out to deliver for you.
This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.
Trust is earned. And I will earn yours.
I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister, and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit.
And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual, it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us.
And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto.
I will deliver on its promise.
A stronger NHS.
Better schools.
Safer streets.
Control of our borders.
Protecting our environment.
Supporting our armed forces.
Levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs.
I understand how difficult this moment is.
After the billions of pounds it cost us to combat Covid, after all the dislocation that caused in the midst of a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions I fully appreciate how hard things are.
And I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened.
All I can say is that I am not daunted. I know the high office I have accepted and I hope to live up to its demands.
But when the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness.
So I stand here before you ready to lead our country into the future.
To put your needs above politics.
To reach out and build a government that represents the very best traditions of my party.
Together we can achieve incredible things.
We will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made and fill tomorrow, and everyday thereafter with hope.
West Granton Community Trust Management Committee Decision
WGCT has issued the following statement:
At a meeting of the West Granton Community Trust Management Committee on Monday 18th June, the decision made on 27th June to wind up the Trust was confirmed. This will mean the permanent closure of the Prentice Centre.
It has been reported in the press that the City of Edinburgh Council were considering providing us with a one off grant of £50,000, however with no confirmation of the process to secure this funding nor the timescales involved, the Trust has been left with no alternative but to proceed with the winding up of the Trust.
This is to ensure the orderly transfer of the premises to another charitable organisation and to meet our responsibilities to our tenants, staff and the community.
This is in line with the Constitution of the Trust and the legal requirements associated with the closure of an organisation with charitable status.
The Management Committee would like to thank our loyal members for their support over the years and assure them that we have done everything within our power to avoid this situation.
Given our current financial situation and with no guarantee of long-term funding for staff and overheads, we can no longer operate as a Trust.
Following the suspension of activities at the Prentice Centre on 1 July, there will be no further access for community use. Staff will remain on site until mid-October to care for the building and to manage the process of winding up the Trust.
A sad day indeed for staff, management committee, members, patrons and the wider North Edinburgh community …
STATEMENT ON FUTURE PREMISES FOR CCC (2nd February 2022)
Since the disastrous fire in 2013, we have been looking to rebuild the former Corstorphine Public Hall at Kirk Loan.
We have made considerable efforts, with success, to modernise our governance structure to facilitate this, trusting it would then enable us to access the required funds as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) which owns and runs a Community Facility for the area.
A Lottery Fund application was applauded, but no funds were granted and as you may be aware the CCC has over the past few years received indications of funding options on a number of occasions by the City of Edinburgh Council but has not been allocated anything towards the approved project to rebuild on the original Public Hall site.
Strenuous efforts have been made over a number of years to secure the funds to make that project possible but without success. Our current lease at St John’s road will be coming to an end shortly, leaving us nowhere to run all our current and successful community groups and services.
After much serious consideration and research, CCC has now started the proceedings for a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) of Westfield House in Corstorphine, the former city council office building, also situated in Kirk Loan
Our intention is to adapt the current building to create the required community centre. The CAT presents an opportunity to provide even more services and activities for the local community. It is also anticipated that external funding for this project will be available from the Scottish Land Trust.
In addition to our existing cash reserves and all donations received, the original site at Kirk Loan has a value and although somewhat reluctantly, it is our intention that the site will shortly be marketed for sale; this will provide funds to be used solely for the provision of the new community centre for Corstorphine.
Edinburgh Napier is proud to announce that the University has removed all direct investments from fossil fuel companies.
We have a strong history of enhancing environmental sustainability within and beyond Edinburgh Napier. To maintain our achievements and develop our work further, we have set significant commitments within our new University Strategy, including achieving net zero carbon in our operations by 2030 at the latest.
This announcement is in line with our net zero direction of travel and reflects our wider commitment to minimise both our wider and legacy carbon footprint and influence sustainable practices within and beyond our campuses. We are now fully divested from direct investments in fossil fuel companies, including investments through share providers.
Andrea Nolan, Principal and Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “This announcement recognises the dedication and enthusiasm of our University’s students and staff to work together to meet our sustainability goals. We have made the commitment to achieve net zero carbon in our operations by 2030 at the latest, while also seeking to minimise both our wider and legacy carbon footprint and influence sustainable practices within and beyond our campuses.
“By removing all direct investments from fossil fuel companies, we are taking significant steps towards meetings these commitments. We have a strong history of enhancing environmental sustainability within and beyond Edinburgh Napier, and we will continue to work collaboratively to maintain our achievements and develop our work further through the sustainability commitments embedded within our new University Strategy.”
It is important to highlight the vital role our own Edinburgh Napier students had in making this happen. Members from the Edinburgh Napier Sustainable Society and the Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association were instrumental in making their voices heard, taking the issue to the University and advocating for the position of divesting from fossil fuels.
As well as engaging with senior leadership, the students also worked with the Edinburgh Napier University Development Trust to ensure that the Trust itself – a separate legal entity from the University which manages all philanthropic funds on behalf of the University – also removed all direct investments from fossil fuel companies.
The Trust has been working to reducing its exposure to fossil fuel investments over the last few years, and our students played an important part in working with them to make the final push to full divestment.
In February this year, investment management company Brewin Dolphin wrote to the Trust to confirm it had taken action to sell all remaining collective funds in the UK, Europe and the US where there was any indirect exposure to oil and gas companies, reinvesting the proceeds into a range of directly held stocks or into collectives where there is no underlying exposure.
Brewin Dolphin also stated it would continue to work with the Trustees not only to generate investment returns, but also to reflect the values of the University and the wishes of the donors within the investment strategy by favouring companies which contribute positively to society.
George Borthwick, Chair of the Development Trust, said: “Edinburgh Napier University recognises the challenges we all face in living and working more sustainably. Aligned to the University’s strategic priorities, the University Development Trust, which raises funds to provide student scholarships, bursaries and awards, has completed divestment from fossil fuels.
“As a University Development Trust, it is important that our own investments and operational decisions reflect the values that underpin our community. By moving all our investments out of fossil fuels and adopting a position that they should aim to have a positive impact on society and the environment, we are making a commitment to being a part of a sustainable, healthy and positive future.”
The Edinburgh Napier Sustainable Society said: “We at Edinburgh Napier Sustainable Society believe that education plays a vital role in the fight against climate change.
“We are incredibly proud to be a part of a University that actively listens to the student voice, and is leading by example to combat the climate crisis with its fossil fuel divestment. Although we are only at the beginning of our fight, this is a huge milestone that we have been grateful to be part of!”
Achieving this position has been a result of hard work and collaboration across the University, its partners and its students. We are especially proud of the commitment, passion and dedication of our students, who used their voice to ask for change and worked tirelessly to help make the final transition to full divestment happen.
This accomplishment came about as a result of their efforts and pride in their University, and we are grateful for them continuing to challenge us and work alongside us to make these changes.
In addition to divesting from direct investments, the University has recently updated the existing electricity contract to procure 100% renewable electricity throughout all University buildings. From 1 April 2021, all electricity consumed is backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin.
Professor Gary Hutchison, Chair of the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy Group, said: “By removing direct investments from fossil fuel companies, we are underpinning our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and working towards a more sustainable future for Edinburgh Napier University.
“Our students have played a significant part in making this divestment happen, and will continue to have a voice on the University’s sustainable future through their involvement in our Environmental Sustainability Strategy Group.
“We know there is a lot of work still to do but by working together with our staff, students and local communities, we can make sure Edinburgh Napier University plays its part in tackling climate change.”
Meeting our net zero carbon goal will be a culmination of work from across the University, its staff and students, its local communities and partners.
We are committed to collaborative working wherever possible and will continue to explore and identify opportunities to further reduce our carbon emissions and enhance our sustainability practices.
On Saturday, 22 May, 2021, St Johnstone and Hibernian go head to head in the Scottish Cup Final.
There is always significant interest in these extremely important fixtures and despite the match being played behind closed doors, this weekend’s game will be no exception.
The game is eagerly anticipated and passions can run high. However, fans can be assured that preparations for policing any gatherings in relation to the match are well underway with public safety being Police Scotland’s primary concern.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “The Scottish Cup Final on Saturday is an important day for everyone involved with St Johnstone and Hibernian football clubs and we will have an appropriate policing plan in place to maintain public safety.
“It is vitally important that both sets of fans avoid gathering in large groups and stick to the regulations in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“I also want to take this opportunity to remind people that the use of pyrotechnics is extremely dangerous. We have seen from events in recent weeks that the consequences of their use can be severe, you might not just injure yourself using them, but you could also seriously injure those in your vicinity.
“Police Scotland is already working with both teams and our partners, including the Scottish Government, to ensure the match goes ahead safely and supporters follow the restrictions for their own safety and that of the wider public and our officers.
“Our approach throughout the pandemic has been to engage with the public, explain the legislation and encourage compliance, but officers will not hesitate to use enforcement powers as a last resort.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made this statement in the House of Commons yesterday
Mr Speaker, I beg to move:
That an Humble Address be presented to Her Majesty expressing the deepest sympathies of this House on the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the heartfelt thanks of this House and this nation for his unfailing dedication to this Country and the Commonwealth, exemplified in his distinguished service in the Royal Navy in the Second World War; his commitment to young people in setting up The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a scheme which has touched the lives of millions across the globe; his early, passionate commitment to the environment; and his unstinting support to Your Majesty throughout his life.
Mr Speaker, it is fitting that on Saturday His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh will be conveyed to his final resting place in a Land Rover, which Prince Philip had designed himself, with a long wheel base and a capacious rear cabin, because that vehicle’s unique and idiosyncratic silhouette reminds the world that he was above all a practical man, who could take something very traditional – whether a machine or indeed a great national institution – and find a way by his own ingenuity to improve it, to adapt it for the 20th or the 21st century.
That gift for innovation was apparent from his earliest career in the Navy. When he served in the second world war, he was mentioned in despatches for his “alertness and appreciation of the situation” during the Battle of Cape Matapan, and he played a crucial role in helping to sink two enemy cruisers. But it was later, during the invasion of Sicily, that he was especially remembered by his crewmates for what he did to save their own ship.
In a moment of high danger, at night, when HMS Wallace was vulnerable to being blown up by enemy planes, he improvised a floating decoy – complete with fires to make it look like a stricken British vessel – so that the Wallace was able to slip away, and the enemy took out the decoy.
He was there at Tokyo Bay in 1945, barely 200 yards away from the Japanese surrender on the deck of USS Missouri; but he wasn’t content just to watch history through his binoculars. It seems that he used the lull to get on with repainting the hull of HMS Whelp; and throughout his life – a life that was by necessity wrapped from such a young age in symbol and ceremony – one can see that same instinct, to look for what was most useful, and most practical, and for what would take things forward.
He was one of the first people in this country to use a mobile phone. In the 1970s, he was driving an electric taxi on the streets of London – the fore-runner of the modern low-carbon fleet, and, again, a vehicle of his own specifications. He wasn’t content just to be a carriage driver. He played a large part in pioneering and codifying the sport of competitive carriage driving.
And if it is true that carriage-driving is not a mass-participation sport – not yet – he had other novel ideas that touched the lives of millions, developed their character and confidence, their teamwork and self-reliance. It was amazing and instructive, to listen on Friday to the Cabinet’s tributes to the Duke, and to hear how many were proud to say that they, or their children, had benefited from taking part in his Duke of Edinburgh Award schemes.
I will leave it to the House to speculate as to who claimed to have got a gold award, and who got a bronze. But I believe those ministers spoke for millions of people – across this country and around the world – who felt that the Duke had in some way touched their lives, people whose work he supported in the course of an astonishing 22,219 public engagements, people he encouraged, and, yes, he amused.
It is true that he occasionally drove a coach and horses through the finer points of diplomatic protocol, and he coined a new word – dontopedalogy – for the experience of putting your foot in your mouth.
And it is also true that among his more parliamentary expressions he commented adversely on the French concept of breakfast, and told a British student in Papua New Guinea that he was lucky not to be eaten, and that the people of the Cayman Islands were descended from pirates, and that he would like to go to Russia except that, as he put it, “the bastards murdered half my family”.
But the world did not hold it against him, Mr Speaker. On the contrary, they overwhelmingly understood that he was trying to break the ice, to get things moving, to get people laughing and forget their nerves; and to this day there is a community in the Pacific islands that venerates Prince Philip as a god, or volcano spirit – a conviction that was actually strengthened when a group came to London to have tea with him in person.
When he spoke so feelingly about the problems of overpopulation, and humanity’s relentless incursion on the natural world, and the consequent destruction of habitat and species, he contrived to be at once politically incorrect and also ahead of his time.
In a quite unparalleled career of advice and encouragement and support, he provided one particular service that I believe the House will know in our hearts was the very greatest of all. In the constant love he gave to Her Majesty the Queen – as her liege man of life and limb, in the words he spoke at the Coronation – he sustained her throughout this extraordinary second Elizabethan age, now the longest reign of any monarch in our history.
It was typical of him that in wooing Her Majesty – famously not short of a jewel or two – he offered jewellery of his own design. He dispensed with the footmen in powdered wigs. He introduced television cameras, and at family picnics in Balmoral he would barbecue the sausages on a large metal contraption that all Prime Ministers must have goggled at for decades, complete with rotisserie and compartments for the sauces, that was – once again, Mr Speaker – a product of his own invention and creation.
Indeed as an advocate of skills and craft and science and technology this country has had no royal champion to match him since Prince Albert, and I know that in due course the House and the country will want to consider a suitable memorial to Prince Philip.
It is with that same spirit of innovation that as co-gerent of the Royal Family, he shaped and protected the monarchy, through all the vicissitudes of the last seven decades, and helped to modernise and continually to adapt an institution that is above politics, that incarnates our history, and that is indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.
By his unstinting service to The Queen, the Commonwealth, the armed forces, the environment, to millions of people young and not so young around the world, and to countless other causes, he gave us and he gives us all a model of selflessness, and of putting others before ourselves.
And though I expect Mr Speaker, he might be embarrassed or even exasperated to receive these tributes, he made this country a better place, and for that he will be remembered with gratitude and with fondness for generations to come.
AND AT HOLYROOD:
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon moved the following motion at The Scottish Parliament yesterday:
Motion of Condolence following the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: First Minister’s statement – 12 April, 2021
Presiding Officer,
The tributes paid to the Duke of Edinburgh over these last three days show the affection in which he was held – here in Scotland, across the United Kingdom, and indeed around the world.
On behalf of the people of Scotland, I express my deepest sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen – who is grieving the loss of her ‘strength and stay’, her husband of almost 74 years – and also to the Duke’s children, and to the wider Royal Family.
Of course, before he became the public figure so familiar to all of us today, the Duke of Edinburgh had already led a life of distinction.
Like so many of his generation, he endured difficulties and faced dangers that generations since can barely comprehend.
As a naval officer in World War Two, he was mentioned in dispatches for his part in the Battle of Matapan.
In 1943, his courage and quick-thinking helped save HMS Wallace from attack in the Mediterranean.
And during a two year spell at Rosyth, he was responsible for escorting merchant vessels on a route known as “E-boat alley”, because of the frequency of the attacks from German vessels.
For these contributions alone, he – like all of our veterans – is owed a significant debt of gratitude.
The Second World War was, however, just the beginning of the Duke of Edinburgh’s life of public service.
From 1947, he was the Queen’s constant companion.
And from 1952, he was her consort.
As has been much noted in recent days, he became the longest serving consort in British history.
That role, in a constitutional monarchy, cannot be an easy one – particularly, perhaps, for someone who is spirited and energetic by temperament.
And of course, he faced the additional challenge of being the husband of a powerful woman – at a time when that was even more of an exception than it is today.
That reversal of the more traditional dynamic was highly unusual in the 1940s, 50s and 60s – and even now, isn’t as common as it might be.
Yet the Duke of Edinburgh was devoted to supporting the Queen. They were a true partnership.
Indeed, like First Ministers before me, I got to witness the strength of that partnership at close quarters during annual stays at Balmoral.
I always enjoyed my conversations with the Duke of Edinburgh on these visits – indeed on all of the occasions that I met him – and I was struck by how different he was in private to the way he was sometimes characterised in public.
He was a thoughtful man, deeply interesting and fiercely intelligent. He was also a serious bookworm, which I am too, so talking about the books we were reading was often, for me, a real highlight of our conversations.
Prince Philip was without doubt a devoted consort to the Queen – but of course he also carved out a distinctive individual role.
He took a particular interest in industry and science, and he was far-sighted in his early support for conservation. Indeed, as far back as 1969, in a speech here in Edinburgh, he warned of the risks of “virtually indestructible plastics”.
And of course, in 1956 he founded The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, which now every year provides opportunity, hope and inspiration to more than 1 million young people in more than 100 different countries across the world.
In addition, the Duke of Edinburgh was patron of more than 800 charities. At the time of his retirement from Royal duties, he had completed well over 20,000 engagements.
Many of these engagements were of course here in Scotland – a country that he loved from a very early age.
He was educated in Moray, taught to sail by a Scottish trawler skipper, and as has been mentioned already, was based at Rosyth for two years during the war.
When the Duke received the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh in 1949, he spoke then of the “numberless benefits” that Scotland had given him.
Some of his very first duties with the Royal Household were undertaken here in Scotland.
In July 1947 – just a week after the announcement of his engagement to the then Princess Elizabeth – the couple travelled here to Edinburgh.
And in the years since, the Duke has been present at many of the key moments of our modern history – including, of course, the official openings of our Scottish Parliament.
He has served many Scottish charities and organisations – indeed, he was Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh for more than 50 years.
Throughout all of that time, the public has held him in great affection.
On that first Royal Visit to Edinburgh in 1947, people gathered just across the street, in the forecourt of Holyrood Palace, and celebrated the Royal engagement with country dancing.
More than 70 years later – shortly after he had announced his retirement from public life – I witnessed the warmth of the reception he received as he accompanied the Queen to the opening of the Queensferry Crossing.
This is an event I had known he was determined to attend – he was fascinated and deeply impressed by the feats of engineering that each of the three Forth Bridges represent.
Presiding Officer,
One of the Duke of Edinburgh’s early engagements in Scotland, shortly after the Queen’s Coronation, was to plant a cherry tree in the grounds of Canongate Kirk, just across the road from here.
It stands directly opposite the tree planted by the Queen a year previously.
These trees are just about to bloom, as I am sure they will do each spring for decades to come.
I am equally sure that – not just in the weeks ahead – but many years from now, people will think fondly of the Duke of Edinburgh as they pass Canongate Kirk and look across to Holyrood Palace.
It is right that our Parliament pays tribute to him today.
In doing so, we mourn his passing and we extend our deepest sympathy to Her Majesty The Queen and her family.
We reflect on his distinguished wartime record; his love and support for the Queen; and his decades of public service to Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth.
Above all, Presiding Officer, we celebrate – and we honour – an extraordinary life. I move the motion in my name.
