Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labor Party, welcomed Derek Mackay’s announcement that he would provide evidence in an upcoming Holyrood inquiry into the deal, which was agreed as Transport Minister. Ms Sturgeon insisted that Mr Mackay was responsible for signing the contract with Ferguson Marine to build the two ships. Their cost has risen from 97 97 million to 250 250 million and they are five years behind. However, Mr Sarvar said Ms Sterzon was running a “horrific control government” and it was “unbelievable” that Mr Mackay could have approved the project without her consent.
Trying to scare the goat
Mr Mackay’s friends, who resigned after sending inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old student, accused Ms Sturgeon of trying to oust the scapegoat for the loss, despite being only a junior transport minister at the time. They told the Sunday Times that Ms Sturgeon was heavily involved and was aware of concerns about the abolition of basic taxpayer protections, but allowed it to go anyway. She admitted last week that she had failed to stop her pursuit. John Swinney, the deputy prime minister, and Keith Brown, the SNP deputy leader, are also said to have played a key role in the decision to award the contract to Ferguson Marine against the wishes of the ferry owners. Transport Secretary Jenny Gilruth declined to comment yesterday on Mr Mackay’s prospect of giving details of the scandal, but the development was hailed by Holyrood’s opposition parties. An investigation by Audit Scotland published in March found that in 2015 the shipping company Caledonian Maritime Assets warned ministers that it was too dangerous to go ahead with Ferguson Marine.
Basic deadlines were missed
After naming the preferred bidder, the yard undertook to guarantee full repayment to the public treasury if it missed key deadlines and specifications. SNP ministers insisted the contract be awarded to Ferguson Marine, but auditors could find “no substantiated evidence” of the decision. Jim McColl, the yard owner who owned the yard at the time, said the contracts were hastily completed before the specifications could be finalized to give Ms. Sturgeon political impetus at the 2015 SNP convention and next year ‘s Holyrood election. The Scottish Government nationalized the yard in 2019 after it was put into management. Mr Sarwar told the BBC Scotland on Sunday that it was “correct” that Mr Mackay was giving evidence to the investigation, but added: a micro-manager first minister. “The idea that such a big decision was made by a junior minister without the approval of the first minister is unbelievable.” He said Ms Sturgeon and Mr McColl should also be called in to give evidence to the inquiry, which is expected to get the green light later this month. The public audit committee has a majority of the opposition MSPs. In his first public statement since resigning in February 2020, Mr Mackay said: “I’m willing to work with a parliamentary committee and do my best to answer any questions they may have. “To make it as complete as possible, I will seek access to the necessary documents and information to which I am entitled as a former government minister.”
“Fourth in a row”
Friends of Mr Mackay, who is trying to build a new career as a consultant, said he was hurt and surprised by Mrs Sturgeon pointing the finger at him and believed he had been “victimized”. Claiming he was in fact “fourth in line” on who made the key decisions, they said: “He was behind the key players – Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Keith Brown. “Anyone who knows anything about how these processes work knows that something of this magnitude could never have happened without prior approval at higher levels.” Scottish government documents revealed that Mr Brown, his then-boss, had been summoned to sign the deal while McKay was on holiday. They also indicated that Mr Swinney “approved the financial implications of the award” prior to Ms Sturgeon ‘s announcement that Ferguson Marine was the preferred bidder. Ms Gilruth told the Sunday show that it was not “appropriate” for her to comment on Mr Mackay’s details. He noted that Kate Forbes, the finance minister, had answered questions about the Holyrood scandal last week. However, Ms. Forbes was not even an MSP when the contract was signed. Graham Simpson, Scotland Tory’s shadow transport minister, said: “Jenny Gilruth and the SNP are trying to get over this scandal and they are completely wrong about how wrong they were with this contract. “The SNP has recklessly thrown away a huge amount of taxpayers’ cash and no one within the party owns or takes responsibility for this utter chaos.”
