Ferry scandal Scotland: Report details a sorry saga the Scottish Government must learn lessons from

It remains extraordinary that not a single Scottish Government minister or individual has been held to account for their involvement in the ongoing ferries fiasco.

This is a fact that stands out more than any other when reading the scathing, eyes-through-your-fingers report by Holyrood’s public audit committee into the scandal that hangs over Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy as First Minister like a January raincloud.

Its findings underline a smorgasbord of failings of governance, of transparency and of accountability. It is, at every turn, a sorry saga.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

First, it’s worth a reminder the degree of influence of politics and politicians on a value-for-money procurement decision by a taxpayer funded agency is why this is a scandal and politically damaging. This contract, allegedly, was ‘rigged’ in favour of FMEL, according to the BBC Disclosure documentary 'The Great Ferries Scandal'. But despite the report we are no closer to answering that and other central questions about the scandal.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister and temporary Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, John Swinney MSP, sat next to First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, as he delivers the Scottish Budget to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.Scotland's Deputy First Minister and temporary Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, John Swinney MSP, sat next to First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, as he delivers the Scottish Budget to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister and temporary Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, John Swinney MSP, sat next to First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, as he delivers the Scottish Budget to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Apportioning blame has merged with evading accountability from those involved. We do now have judgement on the behaviour of central characters, however.

Ms Sturgeon is accused of weakening CMAL’s ability to negotiate with FMEL by publicly announcing it as preferred bidder. The disgraced Derek Mackay is said to have given FMEL a “green light” to ignore a mandatory requirement in the contract for the two vessels in an ill-advised letter to an SNP MSP.

Keith Brown, now justice secretary, “obstructed” the committee’s scrutiny of the deal, needing three attempts to provide basic information.

Transport Scotland’s conduct is also criticised as almost contemptuous, the civil service viewed primarily as an impotent machine that failed to push back on flawed decisions, driven by a lack of leadership.

Despite these criticisms, the Government still appears to believe it made the right calls, at the same time, and sees itself as beyond reproach for saving jobs.

It is hard to see how the Government can refuse the recommendations of the report to ensure ministerial directions and shareholder authority requests from boards of publicly-owned companies are made public pro-actively. However, this basic commitment to transparency feels anathema to this Government.

The ferries fiasco is one of Ms Sturgeon’s defining legacies she will leave Scotland and the SNP. It is a shameful one, all the more so as everyone – be that Jim McColl, SNP ministers or CMAL executives – continues to evade taking responsibility.

Want to hear more from The Scotsman's politics team? Check out the latest episode of our political podcast, The Steamie.

It's available wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.