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Thank you.

Finally, Ms Robertson, I will read you two quotes from teachers. One says:

“I have never been so demoralised about the state of history at SQA level”.

The second, which is from an experienced teacher writing in The Herald, states:

“what we have recently experienced with the SQA has been nothing short of a national scandal”.

Will you apologise for this?

In fairness, I understand that. It was more on the point from the cabinet secretary—

There were three different meetings—the one that I was speaking about was at the pre-marking stage. I have seen the same email as Pam Duncan-Glancy has seen; she is speaking about a separate meeting at which legitimate concerns were raised. We have got as far as we are going to get with the meeting before any papers were marked. I am very suspicious about the evidence, but I take it at face value.

Pam Duncan-Glancy would like to know about the changing of the gradings and what was discussed before, four days later, the SQA’s position changed.

Cabinet secretary, would you like to say anything on the independence of the review?

You asked to come back in on the issue.

We have not really had any questions on that yet.

Jackie Dunbar wants to come in on a separate point.

No, but you are the head of the SQA, and if there are concerns about a marker meeting, I would expect you to know about them. Are you saying that no concerns were ever raised at any point that were above the normal standard?

But you are using that as a potential reason.

It is not a coincidence. So, it was an orchestrated effort to get it into the public domain before you came here today to answer questions from MSPs. Yes or no?

Hours before you came to committee—