Finnie is McConnell’s ‘right guy’

Published on Friday 6 September 2002 01:00

THE beleaguered environment minister, Ross Finnie, was last night backed by Jack McConnell who described him as the "right guy for the job".

The First Minister’s backing for his cabinet colleague came on the day after Mr Finnie was forced to apologise to MSPs for giving wrong information in response to questions about the health scare which recently affected water consumers in parts of Glasgow.

Mr Finnie told MSPs during a debate on the water crisis on Wednesday that all sheep had been removed from the banks of Loch Katrine. However, a statement from Scottish Water showed that about 3,000 sheep remained there. The presence of sheep is thought to have been a factor in the cryptosporidium outbreak that led to thousands of people being asked to boil their water.

Questioned by David McLetchie, the Scottish Tory leader, Mr McConnell told the parliament that he had heard Mr Finnie apologise for the error he had made in good faith during the debate.

Mr McConnell said the important issues were investment in water and setting the right standards and he insisted that Mr Finnie had been "actively involved" in that process.

He added: "One of the reasons why the standards are different today in Scotland and England as was described yesterday by Ross Finnie is that the levels of investment in Scotland by a Conservative government between 1979 and 1997 were appallingly low."

Mr McConnell said the investment would take the standards of the water supplies in Scotland "even higher still".

He added: "That programme of investment is right and Ross Finnie is the right guy to do it."

Mr Finnie admitted on Wednesday it had not been a "good week" since he had been forced to apologise, two days earlier, for describing Digby Jones, the general secretary of the CBI, as an "English prat" after Mr Jones made a speech at a dinner in Glasgow.

Yesterday was the second time that Mr McConnell has voiced support for the environment minister.

At the height of the water health scare, the First Minister made it known at that time that he had confidence in Mr Finnie and had a good working relationship with him.

The Scottish Tory environment spokesman, John Scott, MSP, yesterday called for action to be taken against Scottish Water over its failure to remove all sheep from around the Loch Katrine area.

He said: "It seems to me that, at the very least, they have been negligent. It could be a matter for the civil courts or for the fiscal. Scottish Water has played fast and loose with public health safety."