Douglas Lumsden, a list MSP for North East Scotland, is listed as having asked a total of 1339 written questions between November 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025.

In a written response to SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, Parliamentary Business Minister Graeme Dey said the average cost of answering a written question is £138.07, with each taking an average of 3 hours and 40 minutes to process.

Gibson said that the figures meant Lumsden’s allegedly AI-generated questions had cost the Scottish public “a staggering £184,875.73, occupying more than 4550 hours’ worth of civil servants’ time”.

The SNP said that Lumsden was responsible for a third of all written and SPCB questions in the winter of 2024/25 and “an astonishing 51% of total questions in January 2025”.

Some of the questions asked by Lumsden, alleged to have been generated by AI, include:

To ask the Scottish Government how much liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been required to supply the MV Glen Sannox in each month since December 2024, and what its position is on the long-term fuel supply strategy for the vessel.

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the MV Glen Sannox, what estimates it has made of the (a) annual consumption of (i) marine diesel and (ii) liquefied natural gas (LNG) and (b) proportion of the vessel’s total propulsion energy that it expects to be provided by LNG in the first full year of scheduled operation.

To ask the Scottish Government, since the MV Glen Sannox entered operational service, what information it has on the (a) total volume of (i) marine diesel and (ii) liquefied natural gas consumed and (b) number of road-tanker deliveries of liquefied natural gas made to the vessel in that period.

To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) it estimates will be required to supply MV Glen Sannox each week, once the vessel enters service on 13 January 2025.

Gibson said: “Mr Lumsden’s hypocrisy is staggering.

“In recent weeks he has denounced Scottish Ministers for the cost of travelling to the US to discuss vital matters such as whisky tariffs and Brazil to tackle climate change.

“Yet the cost was a fraction of what Mr Lumsden has cost taxpayers by deluging the Scottish Parliament with over 1300 AI generated questions in only four months!

“You have to wonder if he even found time to read the answers?

READ MORE: Watchdog rebukes Labour minister over ‘misleading’ attack on Scottish NHS

“I’ll be asking the parliamentary authorities how we can ensure there is no repeat of such wrecking tactics.”

Responding, Lumsden accused the SNP of a “pathetic attempt to stop opposition MSPs holding the rotten nationalists to account”.

He added: “Unlike SNP backbenchers, including Kenny Gibson, who routinely read out scripted questions handed to them from nationalist spin doctors, I actually scrutinise this failing government.”