The National:

THE Unionist attack dogs will go without their supper after a Freedom of Information request on Patrick Harvie failed to dig up the dirt.  

The FOI poised the question: “The number of occasions that Patrick Harvie MSP made use of government chauffeur driven cars between May 2021 and the present date.” 

The answer was none. The attempt to show up Harvie as a hypocrite on his eco-credentials will go down as a clanger. 

READ MORE: Energy crisis: How are European countries tackling it?

In any case, what we can only assume was an interested reporter will have to take a leaf out of Harvie’s book and get on their bike. 

It’s not the first time someone has looked to besmirch the leader of the Scottish Greens’ reputation in recent times. In December, Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden (below) accused Patrick Harvie of provoking a hate crime on his office after swastikas were drawn on its frontage.  

While such vandalism can never be condoned, the suggestion that Harvie had instigated the attack is laughable. This is primarily due to the fact that the attack occurred within the timeframe of the FOI request.

Without a chauffeur driven car, it’s an incredibly long cycle from Patrick Harvie’s office in Glasgow to Lumsden’s base in Aberdeen. 

The National: Lumsden accused Harvie of instigating the hate crime back in DecemberLumsden accused Harvie of instigating the hate crime back in December

One wonders what imagined embarrassment the Unionist press will think up next. 

Perhaps a request on how much Nicola Sturgeon has spent on miniature flags or how much the Greens have spent on tyre repair kits. 

Douglas Ross is no stranger to blowing his whistle from his time as a football referee, but his party may do well to think twice before calling "foul".