Nicola Sturgeon has said she has not seen any evidence of criminality in the procurement and construction of two late and over-budget ferries, but she insisted coming to that conclusion was “not my job”.
The Glen Sannox and as-yet-unnamed hull 802 were due to be completed by the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow next year – five years late and at potentially two-and-a-half times the initial cost.
But an update sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee from Ferguson Marine chief executive David Tydeman said the date for handover for 802 will be pushed back again from December next year to the first quarter of 2024, while the Glen Sannox may be subject to “one to two months of slippage”.
This week, new allegations have surfaced that the yard had sight of a more than 400-page report setting out the technical requirements for the vessels before it was awarded the contract.
According to the BBC, it was given to the yard by a design consultant, something that its former owner Jim McColl said would have put them in a “very strong position” to win the contract over the five other bidders.
Large parts of the document had been copied verbatim into the Ferguson Marine bid, the report stated.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) rejected claims there had been “preferential treatment” offered to Ferguson Marine given the body’s board voiced its strong opposition to the yard being awarded the contract over the lack of a builder’s refund guarantee.
The auditor general Stephen Boyle announced on Wednesday that he would look into the procurement process, with the full support of Scotland’s top civil servant John Paul Marks.
But Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson, tabling an urgent question in Holyrood on Wednesday, questioned if it was time to call in the police.
Public Audit Committee convener Richard Leonard, questioning the First Minister at the Conveners’ Group in the Scottish Parliament, asked if she believed there was criminality in the process.
“I’ve got many responsibilities as First Minister - I take each and every one of them very seriously - but I don’t think anybody would say that I should be the arbiter on this or any issue whether there has been criminality,” she said. “I’ve certainly seen no evidence of that, but it is not my job.
“We have independent authorities that are there to determine these issues on whatever topic it is that we’re speaking about.”
The First Minister has been called to appear before the Public Audit Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the issue, in the coming weeks. This is something she said: “I’m not sure it is true to say I’m looking forward to that opportunity, but I’m certainly very willing.”
A debate on the Scottish Government’s approach to ferries was held on Wednesday afternoon, with opposition MSPs taking aim at ministers over the scandal.
Simpson said what he called “insider dealing” over the contract “goes all the way to the top”, adding: “Make no mistake, the SNP’s handling of this is the scandal.”
Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said the BBC’s allegations “raise very serious questions”.
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie sarcastically praised transport minister Jenny Gilruth, who did not directly address the “enormous elephant in the room” during her speech in the debate.
“The SNP are the reason for this scandal – they didn’t just happen to be in charge at the time, they caused the chaos,” he added. “Any normal government, adopting international norms, ministers would resign without delay, but not this government.
“It’s everyone else’s fault, according to this government.”
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