Neil Gray is facing mounting criticism over the Scottish Government's handling of the Cairngorms wildfire, with opponents accusing the SNP minister of trying to deflect responsibility onto the Met Office. The dispute has intensified as questions grow over how prepared ministers were for a major fire risk in the Highlands.
The row centers on Gray's attempt to point to weather forecasting as part of the problem, a move critics say sidesteps the bigger issue of the government's own wildfire response. Detractors argue that focusing on the Met Office risks distracting from concerns about planning, coordination and how quickly officials reacted as the situation developed.
What began as an emergency response issue has now become a political flashpoint for the SNP. Gray has been accused of political game-playing over a serious public safety matter, with rivals pressing ministers to explain what went wrong during the Cairngorms wildfire and whether the government was equipped to respond effectively.
The controversy is likely to keep attention on Scotland's wildfire readiness, the use of weather warnings and the division of responsibility between forecasters and government decision-makers. For Neil Gray, the Cairngorms wildfire response has become a wider test of ministerial accountability.
