'I have been scrupulously impartial' - Holyrood's outgoing Presiding Officer defends her record

The pair clashed numerous times in the last parliamentary session - and after he stood down as an MSP Douglas Ross told LBC, Ms Johnstone was "the Scottish Government's greatest asset in the chamber."

Ms Johnstone was a Scottish Green MSP until she was elected by MSPs into the PO role, which is similar to that of the Speaker in Westminster.

He had previously accused of her showing leniency towards SNP and Scottish Green MSPs - and penalising those in the Tory seats.

And in February this year he refused to leave the chamber after being ordered to do so by Ms Johnstone - leading to a temporary halt in proceedings and a subsequent one-day ban.

Ms Johnstone who steps down from her role on Thursday after overseeing the swearing in of the 129 MSPs elected last week, hit back at the criticism.

Speaking to LBC she said: "If we look at the evidence across the session, I have been clearly scrupulously impartial.

"Look at question sessions week after week, look at parties taken at topicals and for urgent questions. I have been scrupulously fair and I always would be.

"This Parliament is so important to the people of Scotland and I have endeavoured and taken every opportunity to give each and every member optimal opportunities to put their question to the Scottish Government and to scrutinise them very robustly.

"I did it from the beginning, I think, in my first day in the chair, I took three urgent questions and used urgent questions to a hitherto unseen level."

She added: "I've taken more topical questions, frequently I've taken three, which is really hard to cram into that 15 minutes. So I'm in no doubt at all as to what I've done to make sure that the Scottish Government is held to account.

"The figures speak for themselves. My record speaks for itself and it's one that I am proud of, because if I've enabled a single other member to do their job properly, then I'm very, very pleased about that."

Asked if she thought Mr Ross and other MSPs on the Tory benches who complained, were frustrated because of the answers from government ministers, she added: "I think at times people are frustrated on all sides of the chamber, but as I've said, it's my job to enable members to put the questions to the government. And as I've said, frequently, I'm not responsible for the content of members contributions.

"If members don't like a response, then they have many mechanisms at their disposal. Whether that's written questions, whether it's coming back in with another topical question, whether it's raising it in debate. There are a lot of ways to raise issues relentlessly, and I've certainly played my part in making sure that that was the case in this session."

Meanwhile one of the contenders seeking to replace her as PO on Thursday, SNP MSP Kenny Gibson, said the Parliament had become "dull".

At a PO hustings event - organised for the first time in the devolution era and chaired by LBC's Scotland Political Editor Gina Davidson - he said: "I think the chamber has become, frankly, dull.

“It can be a place which is not the most exciting environment, and I do think we need to do more to liven it up.”

Mr Gibson is facing competition for the role - which is chosen by secret ballot and is not supposed to see MSPs whipped by their parties - from former deputy presiding officer and Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur, and Stuart McMillan and Clare Haughey from his own party.

Mr Gibson suggested ensuring the speaking time of MSPs was automatically protected during debates if another member intervenes - rather than having to ask for the time back from the PO.

“The reason for that is to encourage more interaction, but also I believe it will build their confidence, it will make them bolder and I think they will feel more confident and happy in the work that they actually do,” he said.

“So what if we run on for 10 or 15 minutes, big deal.”

He also suggested more flexibility in speaking times for those with an interest in the particular topic compared to other MSPs.

Reform MSP Graham Simpson asked the candidates about any changes they would make to the weekly First Minister’s Questions sessions.

Mr Gibson again described proceedings as “pretty dull”, adding that backbench MSPs need more time to ask constituency questions.

“Sometimes what we have is the leader of the opposition in the last parliament was given 11, sometimes 12 minutes to kick off and by the time we went round the party leaders, it was really difficult for people to get in,” he said.

Mr McArthur said there would be “some people management” required given the make-up of the new Parliament, but he does not favour the idea of extending the time allotted for FMQs, pushing for more “discipline” in timekeeping.

“A greater degree of spontaneity, I think, would help, but still I think a tightening up the time taken to ask the question and answer them is what is required,” he said.

“You get through far, far more business, it’s more, I think, entertaining for those that are watching online and in the gallery.”

Mr McMillan told the assembled MSPs there had been a “lack of discipline” in recent Holyrood sessions.

“I do genuinely think that there has to be a lot more respect of and tolerance of each other, and also of the different views and opinions that people have,” he said.

“We’re all from different political persuasions, we all have our views and our beliefs, but it’s also how we actually attempt to engage with each other, and I think it’s going to become more important in this session because of the number that each party actually has.”

Ms Haughey was not able to attend the hustings, but will still be in the running for the job.