The death of the Queen two weeks ago was a profoundly sad moment for Scotland and the rest of the UK.

In the days following Her Majesty passing away peacefully at Balmoral, thousands gathered across Scotland to pay their respects to her and to The King and Royal Family.

I was honoured to represent Scotland at a number of events in Edinburgh and London.

I was very moved, though not at all surprised, to hear how important Scotland was to The Queen and how much she loved the time she spent here.

One of the many privileges of being First Minister was getting to spend time with her at Balmoral, allowing me to see with my own eyes how happy and relaxed she was there.

The Queen’s love for Scotland was more than reciprocated. As she made her final journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh, we saw just how much she meant to all of us.

The Queen was the first British monarch in history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of dedicated and unwavering public service. Her lifetime of service was just one of many reasons that so many in Scotland held her in such affection and esteem. We will not see her like again.

I also want to pay tribute to the thousands of public servants who worked to develop the plans - known as ‘Operation Unicorn’ - for what would happen should The Queen die in Scotland.

When that time sadly came, countless people worked tirelessly to ensure the plans were well implemented, and that Scotland could say a fitting farewell to The Queen.

After observing ten days of national mourning in memory of Her Majesty, politics returned last week - with the new Chancellor announcing a so-called ‘mini-Budget’ on Friday.

Millions of people across Scotland were desperately hoping that the UK Government would use its reserved powers to help those who need it most.

However, perhaps not surprisingly, the Tories - whose policy choices, especially Brexit, have pushed the UK economy into crisis - chose massive tax cuts for the very richest and precious little for everyone else.

At a time when so many are being forced to cut back on food and energy, run up debt and turn to food banks, this UK Government chose to borrow large sums of money, not to help the majority, but to line the pockets of the already wealthy.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, only those earning more than £155,000 will benefit from these changes.

Everyone else will pay more. And it is even worse than that - the fiscal recklessness of these  decisions which, on Friday, sent the pound into free-fall and pushed up the cost of borrowing, will undoubtedly force the Bank of England to raise interest rates even further, hurting those already struggling.

Ordinary taxpayers will now foot the bill for energy company bail outs and multi-billion-pound tax breaks for big business and high earners.

Almost unbelievably, until we remember what the Tories are really like, they also lifted the cap on bankers’ bonuses.

After a decade of Tory cuts and Brexit folly - and before inflation started to soar - the UK already had the worst poverty and inequality in north-west Europe.

Now millions will be pushed further into hardship and future generations will saddled with billions in public debt, not incurred for the benefit of the many but to make a tiny number of rich people even richer.

In Scotland, we will continue to use our limited powers and resources in the interests of building a better, fairer country. We are showing what can be done with limited welfare powers - the Scottish Child Payment being the leading example of that.

However, as long as most powers and access to resources lie with a UK Government that is acting contrary to the interests of the majority, our efforts will continue to be undermined.

That is why it is so important that we get the key powers that really matter - over welfare, tax, borrowing and growing the economy - into the Scottish Parliament’s hands as soon as possible.

While the cost-of-living crisis gets worse in the UK, the war in Ukraine continues to take its toll on that country and her people. It is vital - at what seems like a pivotal moment in the war - that the world continues to stand, morally and practically, in solidarity with Ukraine as it continues to resist Putin’s increasingly desperate aggression.

I know that Scotland will continue to play our part, in every way possible. Over the past seven months, we have welcomed to Scotland more than 18,000 people displaced from Ukraine. This far exceeds our initial commitment to welcome 3000 people, and remains one of the most important contributions we can make to helping Ukraine in its hour of need.

I am proud that Scotland has been able to provide a place of safety for so many - and I am determined that we will continue to do as much as possible, for as long as necessary, to support the people of Ukraine as they strive to win the war.