Dear Jack,

It is with great regret that I have decided to step aside as deputy justice minister.

I have therefore this afternoon tendered my resignation to you.

I am doing this because I do not wish to add in any way to the difficulty in resolving the fire dispute.

There has been a lot of speculation about what I might, or might not, have said about firefighters.

I want to make it entirely clear that I do not hold the views inadvertently attributed to me and if I inadvertently gave that impression at the end of a long and exhausting week, I apologise.

I repeat these are not my views.

What is important is that this dispute is resolved and as a minister my job was to help that.

If I am in any way making that task more difficult for the administration, then I see it as my duty to stand aside and that is what I intend to do.

I strongly believe in the policies the administration is following and will give you the fullest support from the back benches.

Richard Simpson.

The following is the text of Mr McConnell's response:

Dear Richard,

Thank you for your letter of 26 November tendering your resignation from the post of deputy justice minister.

I accept your resignation and I am clear that you do not hold the views about the firefighters that have been reported in the press.

I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my appreciation for the outstanding contribution that you have made to government in Scotland over the last 12 months.

In particular, I would like to thank you for the work that you have done with the deputy first minister to ensure that proper arrangements are in place during the current strike in the fire service and in taking forward the fight against crime.

I am sure that you will continue to campaign on issues, such as tackling drug dealers and the modernisation of prisons from the back benches, as MSP for Ochil.

Yours sincerely

Jack McConnell.