BOTH Sir Tom Hunter and Lord Willie Haughey believe that John Swinney, who has announced his decision to stand down as Scotland’s longest-serving deputy first minister when Nicola Sturgeon’s successor is appointed, will be “sorely, sadly and badly” missed.

Sir Tom, who credited the veteran politician for his support of The Hunter Foundation when the Scottish EDGE business competition launched in 2013, said that in a world of politics that is an “ever-changing feast”, the Deputy First Minister was “someone who could get to the nub of a problem very quickly”.

“He was our main contact at the Scottish Government for The Hunter Foundation and there are things which would not have happened without him,” Sir Tom noted. “I found him to be an honest politician which perhaps is a bit rare these days.

“His experience and, frankly, his big heart will be missed by the Scottish Government.”

From Lord Haughey’s perspective, Mr Swinney was “someone who if he said he would try to do something, he would. If the answer was no then he would come back and tell you”, stating that his departure is a “big, big, blow to the SNP”.

“Although we didn’t agree where politics collide, John Swinney has been part of everything for the last 15-20 years and he leaves a big void.”

Discussing the current SNP leadership race, both Sir Tom and Lord Haughey agreed that Kate Forbes, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, understood the importance of business to the economy.

“She knows we need a strong private sector to pay the taxes to pay for the public sector,” said Sir Tom, adding that he was looking forward to hearing the views on business of the other two candidates, Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan.