Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “Shameless SNP and Green MSPs put partisan politics before truth and integrity, to the understandable fury of grooming gang victims.
“To any reasonable person, Angela Constance’s position is untenable. She misled parliament by misrepresenting Professor Jay, tried to cover it up and then publicly lied after being caught.
“She twisted Professor Jay’s words to reject our calls for a Scottish grooming gangs inquiry and then failed to correct the record.
“It’s an open-and-shut case of a ministerial-code breach for which she should lose her job. It is disgraceful for John Swinney to defend the indefensible in this way and for the Greens to yet again back the SNP.”