Nicola Sturgeon has denied the awarding of a contract to Ferguson Marine to build two ferries amounted to “jobs for the boys”.
The First Minister also claimed information had not been deliberately withheld from the Holyrood committee probing the Glen Sannox and the as-yet unnamed hull 802.
The two ferries are late in being completed and the potential cost could exceed £300m - three times the initial £97m contract.
Audit Scotland has warned of a “multitude of failings” in the delivery of the two boats, which are still under construction at the publicly-owned Port Glasgow shipyard.
In evidence to MSPs, Sturgeon expressed “deep regret” about the impact on island communities.
Tory MSP Sharon Dowie asked why Sturgeon personally announced Ferguson Marine, which at the time was owned by tycoon Jim McColl, as the preferred bidder.
The First Minister said it was not unusual for her to do so, saying she was aware that negotiations were ongoing at the time.
Dowie said: “Was there an interest from the Scottish Government to award the contract to FMEL (Ferguson Marine)?
“Was it a kind of ‘jobs for the boys’?
“There’s obviously been talk of a kind of relationship between the Scottish Government and (owner) Jim McColl.”
At the time, in 2015, McColl was seen as being close to the Scottish Government.
Sturgeon said “jobs for the boys” was a pejorative term which she refuted.
The First Minister said she was not aware of any impropriety in the procurement process, but labelled allegations made in a recent BBC documentary as “serious”.
The Auditor General is examining allegations the yard was in possession of a lengthy document of technical specifications before its bid for the contract was submitted.
Sturgeon also reiterated her support for the Government’s decision to step in and nationalise Ferguson Marine - a decision that angered McColl.
At the start of the session, committee convener Richard Leonard said a submission from Transport Scotland was missing key paragraphs, which later came to light.
Sturgeon said there had been an error with the formatting of the original letter and it was now published in full on the committee’s website.
She said: “I don’t believe that there was any intention to mislead, not least because it would have been very obvious to anybody who had any knowledge of this.”
Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Nicola Sturgeon launched a vessel with painted windows. Five years on, the First Minister’s ‘regret’ that those ferries still haven’t actually arrived won’t cut it for island communities.
“They have had to navigate well over 7,000 cancelled sailings this year. It’s become so bad that islanders are even considering setting up their own ferry company.
“Islanders might have more hope of getting from A to B if Nicola Sturgeon hadn’t launched more independence campaigns than ferries.”
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