NICOLA Sturgeon has been invited to give evidence to a Holyrood committee over the Ferguson ferries scandal.
The First Minister has been asked to attend a session of the Public Audit committee following the appearance of former finance secretary Derek Mackay on Thursday.
The former MSP, who quit his ministerial role after it after more than 100 inappropriate messages he sent to a 16-year-old boy were made public by the Scottish Sun, insisted there was no “political motivation” behind the decision to award the ferries contract to Ferguson Marine.
Jim McColl, Ferguson’s owner, was reportedly a supporter of independence, but in 2015 said he no longer backed separation from the UK.
The yard has since been nationalised to save it from administration and the Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed hull 802 are projected to cost two-and-a-half times more than planned and be delivered five years late.
Critics have claimed the contract was rushed to allow for an announcement to be made at the SNP conference in 2015, but the former minister rejected the assertion. Mackay had not been seen in Holyrood since the story broke and stood down at the May 2021 election. He had resigned as finance secretary but remained in his role as an MSP.
Following Mackay’s evidence session, committee convener Richard Leonard, Scottish Labour MSP, said there are still some outstanding issues which need to be clarified.
He said: “Today brought clarity to some central issues the committee has taken evidence on.
“However, there remain major differences in the versions of events stretching back to February 2015.
“We have today decided to invite the First Minister to give evidence at a future meeting to help us get to the bottom of what has gone badly wrong with the delivery of ferries 801 and 802 for the Clyde and Hebrides.
“We will also consider any further next steps necessary to be able to report to Parliament on our findings.”
Mackay was the minister who approved the £97 million contract for two ferries being given to the shipbuilding yard in Port Glasgow.
After his evidence session ended, he fled out of the backdoor of the committee room and through a basement corridor to the car park to avoid the waiting press.
Costs eventually spiralled to over £200 million, according to a Freedom of Information request logged by the Scottish Conservatives.
