Mr. Angus Robertson:

Indeed. I will try to cover some of the ground of the Senator's questions. A point was made about complying with European regulations and that is the alignment point I made earlier. We are remaining aligned and using a number of different ways to do it so that when it comes to a point where we have conversations at the appropriate stage with the Commission about our membership, we will be able to show that we have effectively remained aligned with the European Union, its regulations and so on.

There is the question of where Scotland now finds itself as an unintended consequence of Brexit. We certainly did not wish to leave the European Union along with the rest of the United Kingdom but it is being forced on us. We do what we must to ensure we can be in the best possible position. There was a question about our representation in the rest of the UK. We are very fortunate to have an excellent Scottish Government representational office in London with very esteemed leadership. Some of the members may know Mr. John Webster, who was the head of Scotland House in Dublin, and he has now moved on to head our representative office in London. He has been replaced here by my colleague, Ms Katy McNeil, whom members will see more of attending various meetings in this place and in public life in Dublin and Ireland more generally. We try to have the best possible relations, both in London and Dublin.

There was a question on thinking about administrative architecture that brings together all of us in what I still call the home nations. I say that as a rugby fan but why would I not say it with everything else? I feel very at home here, as I do elsewhere on these islands. It behoves us to think about how we can give people assurance and reassurance that regardless of our views on constitutional arrangements, there is a place for all of us and all our traditions in an improved constitutional situation in Scotland and elsewhere on these islands.

I have already mentioned the British-Irish Council, the secretariat of which is based in Edinburgh. We look with great interest at what our colleagues in Scandinavia do to bring those nations together to work co-operatively but we will have to find our own way. I am very much in favour of that and it is over to committee to get its ideas. I am very interested in hearing about all that.

The Senator also commented on the British Prime Minister wishing to stymie things. Scottish political history is full of UK political leaders saying "no, no, no, no, no, yes". We do not have enough time to go into all of this but at some point the penny will drop for decision makers in Westminster that if one is going to block democracy and a democratic decision to be able to decide on our constitutional future, it would not be a decision without consequence. It would profoundly change the nature of the United Kingdom and the view internationally of the United Kingdom as a democratic state, or how it might not be acting as a democratic state.

I am keen to ensure our experience in the run-up to the 2014 referendum is the one we seek to emulate. It was workable, deliverable and respected. If it was good enough then, it is good enough now. It is exactly what we intend to do.