The Justice Secretary of Scotland, Angela Constance, will face a vote of no confidence over grooming gangs row.
Opposing parties have alleged her of providing a false account of an expert on grooming gangs — Prof Alexis Jay — and misleading the parliament.
The issue escalated when the Conservatives and Labour attacked Constance using the First Minister’s Question and urged that Constance be sacked.
Opponents of Swinney claimed that survivors of grooming gangs no longer trust Constance, citing a statement by an alleged victim who tagged her position as “untenable”.
Such calls were pushed back by John Swinney, who maintained that Alexis Jay’s position had already been made clear.
However, his efforts to shift the focus towards a discussion of child sexual exploitation failed to gain an audience.
The controversy began in September, after Constance opposed an amendment bill by the conservatives calling for an inquiry into grooming gangs.
The justice secretary told MSPs that Prof Jay “did not support further inquiries” into child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Emails later released by the government show that Prof Jay clarified in September that she made the comment “in the context of the England and Wales Public Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse, which I chaired.”
She added: “It had nothing to do with [the conservative] amendment, or the position in Scotland, as could be interpreted from your statement.”
Whilst Constance has portrayed her comments as “accurate”, opposition argued that she has breached the ministerial code for failing to correct the parliamentary record.
READ ALSO: Scottish resident doctors ballot for strike over alleged pay deal breach
Meanwhile, senior sources in the government have rejected the stance that Constance violated the ministerial code accusing opponents of cynical point-scoring ahead of next year’s election.
She enjoys the backing of the first minister, John Swinney, and has received public support from cabinet colleagues.