 It is my sad duty now to introduce a motion of condolence on the death of our parliamentary colleague Alex Johnson MSP. I would like to thank Alex's wife Linda, her two children Alexander and Christine and Christine's husband, Watty, for joining us in the gallery today. Earlier this afternoon, I was able to pass to Linda and her family the book of condolence signed by friends, members and staff here at the Parliament. I hope that, in the weeks, months and years to come, you will take some comfort in the kind words so many had to say about Alex. He was one of the original class of 99 and did so much to help to establish the Parliament at the centre of Scottish political life. For me and I suspect for many who knew him, it is not his political legacy nor his public service, which will be at the front of our minds today, so much as his warmth, his humanity and his friendliness. Alex is one of the most big-hearted and engaging of colleagues that I had the pleasure to work with. Even when fellow MSPs disagreed with him, no one could ever dislike him. Across the political divide, we are united in our sense of loss and we share the grief felt so acutely by those he loved and who will so miss him. I would like to thank you and so many members from all sides of this chamber for attending Alex's funeral last week. As I said at the service, Alex expressly instructed that he be buried on a Friday so that the SNP could not win any votes while the Tories were away. Alex was a big man. He was big-hearted, he had a big personality and a big set of lungs on him when he wanted to be heard in here. He was the last of our class of 1999 and that ever presence and his heft made him seem impregnable, solid, vital, which is why his short illness and death at the age of just 55 is so shocking. We have been robbed of a good man far, far too early. Alex learned his public speaking in the young farmers long before he came to Parliament and he would walk in here with two or three lines written on a scrap of paper and stand up and deliver a whole speech without pause. Nothing blew him off course, no blows landed, he would go out to bat for us on any subject, stand up on his ground, speak with humour, clash with anyone but buy them a drink after. I don't know anyone who didn't like Alex, it was impossible not to like him. Even if he stood against everything he stood for, his warmth, his decency and his sense of fun made him superb company. My favourite description after his death came from a Labour blogger who said that he could disagree with Alex but never find him disagreeable. As much as he loved his politics and being an MSP, Holyrood was not where Alex's heart lay. He was a mern's boy and his priorities from first to last were his family, his community and his faith. We welcome Alex's wife Linda to the public gallery with his son Alexander, his daughter Christine and son-in-law Wotty and we offer our condolences to them along with Alex's mother, six grandsons and wider family. We've lost a friend, a colleague and an opponent. They've lost their world because in truth Linda was more Alex than Alex was himself. They were a single indivisible unit and had been for 40 years ever since their introduction at the age of 15 at the Drumlithie village hall disco. When Alex was first elected it was Linda along with son Alexander who took over the dairy farm and I don't like to cast aspersions but I think it is no coincidence that it took Alex leaving and Linda taking charge for the farm to win best Ayrshire herd in Scotland in 1999. Once here Alex set about his business like the workhorse that he was, cheerily nicknaming himself the spokesman for late nights and early mornings. He was always prepared to do the shifts that others wouldn't do because the party needed representing and it was the right thing to do. It wasn't all duty. AJ's sense of fun meant that he loved concocting stunts with his trusty sidekick Jim Miller. Whether it was rehabilitating King Macbeth from the scurrilous slurs of Shakespeare and having one particular bardoficianado deal out a death threat in the process or dressing up as knights in full armour in a bid to win UNESCO heritage status for Arbroath Abbey, there was nothing that those two wouldn't do to make a headline. Sometimes they even made headlines without meaning to. One night when the pair of them were in the pub, someone pulled a knife, they chased him down the street and disarmed him. The sun ran it full page with a moody, tough-looking picture with a headline, Terror, Parrot Booser, which Alex promptly framed and hung on his wall for the next 10 years. Alex is good for another kind of headline too if any journalist needed a quote to elevate his story from halfway into making it a splash, then Alex was your man. He'd always take the call, he'd always have something to say irrespective of the subject. In part, that was because of his breadth of knowledge. He was interested in everything. He had a love of gadgets and technology, an appreciation of history, built heritage and travel. He was often victorious with his regular pub quiz team Winston Haven, and he read as if books were suddenly endangered. That's the thing about Alex. Lots of people thought first and foremost of his stature, which he would happily use to his advantage, whether it was anchoring the multi-award-winning and still undefeated Conservative Holyrood tug-of-war team, sitting one seat behind and to the left of me to act as a physical and vocal barrier against Alex Salmond when I first became leader at First Minister's Questions, or accompanying me to a meeting with a well-known political protester and disruptor, which we held in the tiniest room that we could find in Parliament, so that Alex was practically sitting on his knee and it turned out that he was as good as gold. Alex had so much more to him than his bluff exterior. He studied. He encouraged younger colleagues. He cared. His stunts in his campaigns weren't one-offs. He carried them through. He didn't send a press release and forget. He built friendships over years, sometimes decades. On knife crime, on veterans housing, Scottish-Japanese relations, championing our broth, the Abbey and the Declaration, farming and his beloved north-east, all of these things he championed. Again and again, year after year, making contacts, helping out, finding new branches, one thing leading to another and another and another. Not enough just to be the only ever MSP to have spoken in this chamber in Japanese. He continued his work on links between the north-east in Japan and earned himself the Consul General of Japan's certificate of commendation. Before his death, Alex had taken it upon himself to do a further strand of work with the forces community to tackle the Walter Mitties who wore medals that they hadn't earned. Alex saw it as a grave affront to those who had served and sacrificed, a way of cheating and devaluing the achievements of folk who'd put in a proper shift. It went against his natural sense of justice and fair play. That was Alex all over, a man who never sought recognition for the work that he did but who'd fight tooth and nail for the work of others to be properly recognised. He was a big man in every sense and a friend to all. I take pride in moving the motion in my name. On behalf of the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Government, let me join in supporting the motion from Ruth Davidson today. In our day-to-day exchanges inside and outside of this Parliament, we might not always live up to it, but there is no doubt that politics at its best should be characterised by respectful disagreement, the ability to make our case forcefully and well while always recognising the integrity and the good intentions of our opponents. Alex Johnston exemplified that quality. That indeed is one of the reasons he was so widely liked and why his passing has been so widely mourned across this chamber and far beyond it. He was a good politician. He was a good, excellent MSP. Much, much more importantly than that, he was a thoroughly good person. Our condolences also go to Linda, to Alex's children, his wider family, his staff and his many, many friends. Alex was, of course, like me and a reducing number in this chamber, one of the MSPs who was elected to the very first Parliament in 1999. He made an extraordinary contribution to this Parliament during all of the years that he was a member of it. First and foremost, that contribution was made in this chamber, but much, much more widely than that, indeed in a remarkably wide range of roles. For example, as Ruth Davidson has just alluded to, for many years, Alex was at the very heart of the annual tug-of-war contest. I have to say a natural and largely unbeatable choice for the Conservative team. Many people in my own party speak very fondly of his role as the vice convener of the parliamentary burn supper club, where his undoubted talents as a master of ceremonies were on full display. Of course, as I said in this Parliament itself, he was robust in arguing his own viewpoint, and he always did so from a deep well of knowledge and learning. He brought passion to every subject that he addressed in this chamber, but he also always brought good grace, good humour and, very often, a very welcome sense of perspective. I myself was on the receiving end of Alex Quickwit in this chamber on more occasions than I care to remember. Indeed, in the last session of Parliament, in the days when the Conservatives sat on the other side of the chamber to where they sit now, during First Minister's questions, I would frequently, out of the corner of my eye, just catch Alex Johnson at gesticulating wildly at me, as I made some very, very important point. I always assumed that it was a deliberate and I have to say usually highly successful attempt at throwing me completely off of my stride. When Alex made his maiden speech in June 1999, he began by saying, I come from the farming community of the north-east where I was born and where I live to this day. For the next 17 years, for every day of those 17 years, it is fair to say that none of us were ever in any doubt about his passion for his home area. Alex was a proud champion of the north-east. He served his local area passionately and effectively, and he represented all of his constituents with diligence and conscientiousness. Given his interests and background, Alex was a natural choice to be convener of the Parliament's first rural development committee. However, he went on to serve his party and the Parliament in many other capacities, most recently as the Conservative spokesman for infrastructure, housing and transport. During the last session, he sat on the welfare reform committee. He was also, as Ruth Davidson has said, a strong campaigner against knife crime over many years. Alex Johnson was a man of wide interests, as well as high principle. In all of this, he exemplified the integrity, dedication and public service that people expect to see from their elected representatives. In many respects, I think that the single biggest achievement of this chamber has not been in any specific piece of legislation. It has been in how quickly and how completely we have become the centre of Scottish public life. People expect this Parliament to address their concerns, meet their priorities and reflect their hopes and dreams. That is not something due to any individual party or Government. It is an achievement that belongs to all parties. It is a consequence of the way in which individual members—and Alex Johnson is a perfect example—have represented and championed the interests of the people that he serves. Alex, throughout his 17 years of service here, made a huge contribution to the effectiveness and the stature of this Parliament, to the wellbeing of his constituents and to Scottish public life. Today, we do more on the loss of a good friend and a dear colleague, but we also celebrate his life and we honour his achievements. We hope that Alex's wife, his children, family and loved ones can find some comfort in seeing the affection and the respect with which he is remembered. On behalf of Scottish Labour, I would like to extend my condolences to Alex's family and friends. As you have heard and will hear many times today, Alex was a larger-than-life character. He was in the Scottish Parliament from the very start, an elder statesman with a permanent twinkle in his eye. He was one of the 1999 intake who had the task of lifting this place from the dry words of an active Parliament to a living, breathing part of Scotland's political landscape, and he fulfilled that task admirably. I was incredibly moved to hear Willie Rennie's tribute when Alex passed away, recalling the warmth that he brought to this chamber. Those who have been in my job before me found they would often be in Alex's eyesight during a daunting session of First Minister's questions, but he would not try to put people off their stride or resort to full outrage to make his point, instead he would listen politely and intently and always tearfully laugh along whenever a joke or an attempt at a joke was cracked. Despite his vast experience as a parliamentarian, Alex would never seek to belittle those who were new to the job. That was the mark of the man. When he was speaking in this chamber, Alex would often make his argument with humour rather than malice. When he spoke in committees, he would bring that same approach, always confident in making his argument with absolute, sometimes brutal, clarity and using humour to great and devastating effect. He would sometimes find himself as the lone Conservative representative, but sitting in silence was not for Alex. He would make sure that his views were heard, and he was always looking for a laugh with colleagues from parties after the formalities were complete. He really was a true team player, none more so than during the independence referendum campaign when he was heavily involved with Better Together in the North East. After the referendum, Alex took the time out specifically to thank people in the Labour Party for their contribution and their efforts. Such kindness and generosity was again the measure of the man. Alex was passionate about the values that he stood for but also the community that he represented—a son of the soil. He was intensely proud of the traditions and cultures of the North East. His farming background brought a great deal of expertise to this parliament and the industry that he worked in before politics has much to thank him for. The North East has truly lost a local loon and one of its finest champions. Alex's influence extended far beyond his shores. He was, as has been mentioned, the convener of the cross-party group on Japan in the Scottish Parliament and was passionate about his work to boost the relationship between our two countries. He taught us the story of Thomas Blake Glover, a 19th-century Scot who brought the first steam locomotive to Japan, who introduced modern coal mining methods and founded the first modern shipyard, which would later become Mitsubishi. In Alex, Hollywood has lost its very own Scottish Samurai. Alex will be missed by his colleagues here in Parliament, his community and those he met on the international stage. I know that he will also be missed by many of his friends in the media. He was, as Ruth has said, legendary for his quick and quick-witted responses to requests for a quote. A slick and carefully choreographed political spin machine did not quite fit with Alex. He would say whatever he wanted to say or indeed whatever the journalist needed him to say. We all knew and loved Alex as a parliamentarian, but first and foremost he was a family man, so our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Linda, their two children and six grandchildren. Everyone who knew Alex remarked on the strength of his marriage and his love for Linda. I hope that the knowledge that Alex has left an indelible mark on this Parliament will give you and your family some comfort. On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I therefore extend our deepest condolences this Christmas. I am grateful to add some thoughts on behalf of the Scottish Green Party as we debate this motion of condolence and to add our sincere sympathies to Linda, to the wider family of Alex Johnson and all of his friends and colleagues here in Parliament and around the country. There is a lot being said already about the need to disagree in good spirit and Alex Johnson's ability consistently to do that. It is important, not just because it makes our job more agreeable, but because on this stage that we share, we can demonstrate that Scotland is capable of disagreeing in good spirit and respectfully, and that was always Alex Johnson's style. He and I were on different sides of a great many debates over the years, I think with very little chance of convincing one another outright to change our minds, but on more than a few occasions I think both of us left those arguments with a deeper understanding of an opposing perspective. I want to add a few thoughts about one of the specific issues that we worked on together, the climate change bill in session 3. At the beginning of that process, Alex talked about some of his concerns about target setting—valid, justified concerns, given that all Governments find it easier to set targets than to reach them. He had an emphasis on trading mechanisms that might not have found agreement with all of us, but always, through those early disagreements, a willingness to listen, to understand and to explore what common ground existed, and when members show that, they generally find it reciprocated. On one occasion, when the committee organised a trip to Brussels to understand climate change policy there, I managed to make sure that no one was allowed to fly, and we all went by train. That smile of humour that we all recognised from Alex Johnson's face became a smile of disbelief. He managed to spend a good part of the journey winding me up about Eurostar's contract for electricity from Europe's biggest generator of nuclear power, but by the end of that long process of trying to understand one another's differing viewpoints by the stage 3 debate, he called it a great day. He emphasised the work that he had done to speak with those who did not fully accept the climate science and the willingness that he had to make sure that there was consensus achieved. Partly thanks to Alex, we managed to avoid the confrontation and the lack of agreement that beset many countries on the issue of climate change. All five parties in Parliament did things to strengthen that legislation, not to undermine it. Alex Johnson is due credit for that. In the final debate on that bill, he mentioned that he had been outside with the campaigners in front of Parliament. I managed to get myself photographed between two people, one dressed as a panda and the other as an orangutan. I regret that Google images at the moment can find no copy of that picture, but I do not think that Alex would want me to leave it without it being found again, because sometimes that smile could be mischievous. Sometimes, in response to some of my arguments, it could be a smile of incredulity, but most often it was a smile because he was just having fun, and I think that is probably the way that I would like to remember him. On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, can we support this motion of condolence? I shall miss Alex Johnson for his humour, his steadfast loyalty and his generosity. I was a frequent debating partner of his at the Aberdeen university debating society, the debate that is up there, alongside Kevin Stewart, Mark McDonald and Lewis MacDonald, Richard Baker. On one particular occasion, when we were defending the coalition, my colleague MP Sir Robert Smith said, the country had a choice between the coalition with the Liberal Democrats or unbridled Alex Johnston. Alex absolutely loved it, and he thumped the table as he does. I do not know how many tables survive after Alex's punishment of it, but he thumped the table in absolute delight and he wore that badge with great honour. Unbridled Alex Johnston. I think that is the Alex Johnston that we all loved. I first met him at a housing conference a few years ago, not necessarily a sympathetic audience for a Conservative speaker, but that was no concern of the likes of Alex Johnson. When he was asked why the Government was recklessly abandoning the practice of paying housing benefit directly to housing associations, he paused and then he responded that if landlords could not be bothered collecting the rent, then why should the Government be bothered? There was a sharp intake of breath around the room until they spotted the twinkle in his eye. That was the unbridled Alex Johnston that I liked. Ruth Davidson has described Alex as her Praetorian guard at FMQs. I need to tell her that he was mine as well. We had our own coalition agreement for five years. He told me that no matter what I said and no matter how much he disagreed with what I was saying, he would thump the table in approval. He did that for five years. No matter how offensive I was about the Conservatives, he would still bang the table—true to his word. However, he did not expect anything in return, but he did get an awful lot more than that, and that was respect from everyone in this chamber. Nicholls Devon told me at the funeral on Friday that he had had some bother in his biolection back in 1991 with state boards going missing during that biolection. After the biolection was over, Alex Johnston cydwled up to Nicholls and said with a big grin on his face that he might know something about where he went to. That was the kind of Alex Johnston that I liked—the smile on his face, the twinkle in his eye, the mischievous humour. Alex Johnston looked like a Tory bruiser, he certainly did, but he was far, far, far more than that. He was intelligent, he was sharp, he was witty, he was loyal, he was principled. I shall miss unbridled Alex Johnston.