Lorna Slater charters private cruiser over CalMac ferry during visit to Isle of Rum

Private charter boat hired by the Scottish Government for trip to island to discuss future of Kinloch Castle.

A Scottish Green minister has been accused of a “breath-taking” lack of self awareness after chartering a private cruise boat instead of taking a Government-operated CalMac ferry service as part of a trip to the Isle of Rum.

Lorna Slater, the minister for biodiversity, travelled to the island today to meet members of the local community trust, alongside Scottish Government and NatureScot staff.

The Government says the move will “maximise time” on the island for the biodiversity minister, her staff and other officials. It comes amid ongoing issues around the CalMac ferry network, with an aging fleet leading to issues with reliability.

Scottish Green party co-leader Lorna Slater is travelling by a chartered ship rather than the CalMac ferry.

Ms Slater will travel on a charter operated by Western Isle Cruises instead of taking the equivalent CalMac service for less than a £10 ticket despite the need for “best value for money” on ministerial travel.

The public will have to wait around two to three months before planned transparency documents, which cover ministerial travel costs are published.

The visit is to discuss the future of Kinloch Castle, a former Edwardian pleasure palace that is at risk of deteriorating as it is no longer being used as a hostel.

City financier and former Tory donor Jeremy Hosking had said he was interested in buying the castle, but blamed Ms Slater’s intervention when he withdrew his bid.

MV Larven, the boat chartered by Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater for her trip to Rum, at the island on Friday, May 12.

Islanders across Scotland reliant on the CalMac fleet have raised concerns about poor reliability of the ferries, leading to what they describe as “devastating” impacts on local communities and their economies.

The Scottish Government has faced fierce criticism for its role in the ongoing ferry scandal, which has seen the construction of two new ships, destined to sail the Clyde and Hebrides network, delayed and run significantly overbudget.

The Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed hull 802 have cost the taxpayer at least £300 million as the embattled, nationalised shipyard Ferguson Marine struggles to meet target dates for delivery.

This has impacted the wider fleet, leading to CalMac chartering the MV Alfred from Pentland Ferries at a cost of £1m a month to cover gaps in its fleet.

Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, Donald Cameron, criticised the decision of Ms Slater to hire a private cruiser.

He said: “Lorna Slater’s hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness is breath-taking. The Greens are forever lecturing the public on the need to use public transport, yet she’s happy for the Scottish Government to charter a private boat to take her to and from Rum.

“Her excuse for doing so – that, essentially, the CalMac timetable doesn’t suit – will go down like a lead balloon with Scotland’s island communities. Those who rely on lifeline ferry services don’t have the luxury of hiring a private boat to travel.

“Instead, they are dependent on an ageing and unreliable CalMac fleet they’ve been lumbered with due to the scandalous incompetence of the Government Lorna Slater is at the centre of.”

Eight people, including islanders, will travel on the boat and the Scottish Government said costs would be published “in the normal way”.

Steve Robertson, from the Isle of Rum Community Trust, stressed the CalMac ferry service did not meet the island’s needs as he described the row surrounding Ms Slater as “a storm in a teacup”.

He said: "Lorna Slater is coming over to do a very important meeting to try and move things forward for the community. It makes people feel disappointed that that's the story when for us a taxi charter boat is a normal part of island life. We have to use these to make the island anything like sustainable.

"She can take the ferry service if she wants to have the meeting on the ferry and fit in with the very narrow options to spend time on Rum."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government believes it is vital to engage with communities in every part of Scotland. Ms Slater’s visit to Rum today was an important opportunity to discuss the community’s vision for the future of the island and Kinloch Castle.

“As a result of being able to stay for the whole day, Ms Slater was able to meet with every single adult resident who was present on the island today. This engagement has been warmly welcomed by the community.

“A number of options were looked at for transport and accommodation for Ms Slater and for the representatives from NatureScot that she was travelling with – and given that Rum is a remote community, she was keen to spend longer on the island than the scheduled ferry service would allow.

“The visit meant that the minister was able to explore in detail the community’s aims and needs for Kinloch Castle, which is owned by NatureScot, and the National Nature Reserve, which makes up the majority of the island.”

The row has emerged as plans to provide additional capacity on services running to and from Mull were announced by CalMac amid several major ferries being out of action.

Th Isle of Mull ferry will make a daily stop at Craignure once it starts running on the Lochboisdale-Oban route, and a two-vessel service will be provided from Lochaline-Fishnish from Monday.

Additional capacity will also be provided on the Craignure route by the Isle of Lewis ferry where possible as part of a non-bookable service.

Robbie Drummond, chief executive of CalMac, said: “Our service continues to be affected by delays to the annual overhaul schedule and its subsequent impact on vessel deployment. This is a challenging period for our customers and we apologise for the disruption this is causing.”

CalMac said it had investigated the option of increasing direct scheduled sailings on the Oban-Craignure route by using the Coruisk and Loch Frisa ferries, but stressed this would not be possible due to crew rest requirements.

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