Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. When this Assembly was recalled two weeks ago, the First Minister outlined the outrageous actions of the Prime Minister in gagging Parliament at a time of national crisis for the country. At the end of that debate, we sent a clear message to the UK Government that we would not stand by while decisions are taken that threaten our democracy.

When Parliament was prorogued last week, there were 52 days left to exit day. By the time MPs are due to return from their enforced suspension, there will be only 17 days to go. For three quarters of those precious 52 days, Parliament has been in lockdown.

It’s no good claiming that a recess for the party conferences was already pencilled in. That was a decision for Parliament to make and we know that in all likelihood the House of Commons would have voted to cancel or shorten it.

So, I welcome the decision by the Court of Session, which is, in fact, a superior court to the High Court in London, despite the comments of some Conservative MPs, which ruled that the act to prorogue Parliament was unlawful. We now await the final ruling from the Supreme Court.

In the precious time that Parliament sat after the summer recess, MPs from across political parties, including those on the Government benches who were prepared to put national interest ahead of the interests of the Conservative Party, united to bring forward legislation designed to stop a ‘no deal’ exit on 31 October.