First Minister John Swinney Backs Justice Secretary Angela Constance Amid Threat of No-Confidence Vote Over Grooming Gangs Row
On 11 December 2025, First Minister John Swinney publicly backed Justice Secretary Angela Constance as Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour threatened a no-confidence vote in response to her remarks on grooming gangs and comments relating to Alexis Jay.
The row centers around Constance's statements about Alexis Jay's position on grooming gangs. Emails later revealed that Jay stated her remarks had nothing to do with Scotland and requested that her position be clarified. Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour accused Constance of misrepresenting Professor Jay, with Anas Sarwar lodging a motion against Constance alleging she had distorted Jay's statements.
Russell Findlay accused Constance of twisting a statement about England to deny the need for a Scottish inquiry into grooming gangs, claiming she misrepresented a leading child abuse expert and had not apologized. Conversely, Swinney described Constance's remarks as a general comment made during a debate on the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The Scottish Government is currently assessing whether a separate grooming-gangs inquiry is required, stating that existing evidence is not sufficient. It also noted the role of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, established in 2015, which could consider grooming-related issues and must be respected in that capacity.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Liberal Democrats expressed their intention to vote against Constance in any no-confidence debate, with Alex Cole-Hamilton stating that Constance misrepresented a respected expert and should apologize. Constance herself rejected calls for an inquiry into grooming gangs in September, despite emails showing Alexis Jay's indication that her position should have been clarified.
