Scottish parliament main chamber

George Reid has been chosen as the new Presiding Officer for the Scottish parliament.

He succeeds Sir David Steel, who led the parliament through its historic first session before standing down at the recent parliamentary election.

On taking up the post, Reid pledged to uphold the key principles of accountability and accessibility.

However, Sir David took the chair for one final time as he oversaw the swearing in of the newest parliamentarians and then the election of his successor.

Giving him a taste of the possibly noisy debate he will miss in the new session, Sir David faced anger from the newly enlarged Scottish Socialist Party contingent, members of which were critical of the lack of a chance to hear from the candidates for the post.

They also sought reassurance that the principle of equality among MSPs would continue to be upheld.

Sir David then moved on to announce that Reid had been elected by 113 votes to seven, with nine abstentions.

Making his final statement, Sir David said his deputy from the previous parliament was an "obvious choice" to succeed him.

"As I take my leave here for the last time, I wish you well," he said.

Reid said it was an honour to succeed Steel and pledged to "work only for the greater good of this parliament".

He added the next four years would be marked by accountability, accessibility, equal opportunities and the sharing of powers between the parliament, executive and the Scottish people.

"The greatest responsibility is to build public confidence in this parliament as the place where the issues of devolved Scottish life are identified, thoroughly debated, and after proper scrutiny, decided," he said.

Labour's Jack McConnell voiced his congratulations and offered "a complete assurance" that Labour would cooperate in working to build public trust.

"We wish you well, we will work cooperatively, constructively and closely with you," he said.

SNP leader John Swinney said he wished his former party colleague "every success" in his new office.

For the Conservatives, David McLetchie said he had been elected on "a share of the vote of which many of us would dream".