Ferries deal reeks of ‘political corruption’
FM denies EU rules broken or fraud committed
SCOTLAND’S ferries fiasco is mired in the ‘stench of political corruption’, Nicola Sturgeon was told yesterday.
The First Minister was forced to deny claims her government and its agencies broke EU rules and committed fraud when it awarded the contract to build two CalMac ferries to the Ferguson shipyard.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the situation looks like ‘corporate fraud’ and claimed there is a ‘stench of political corruption’.
It comes after a BBC documentary revealed Ferguson Marine Engineering
Limited was given access to a 424-page document from a design consultant that other bidders did not see – and then appeared to copy large sections of it into its bid submission.
It also secured a confidential in-person meeting with officials from the ferries quango Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) during the bidding process, and was the only bidder that was allowed to change designs during the tender process and resubmit them, making it more competitive.
Mr Ross yesterday highlighted the yard was owned at the time by independencesupporting businessman Jim McColl, who was also a member of the First Minister’s Council of Economic Advisers, and questioned why he received ‘special treatment’ during the process.
He said: ‘The Government seems to have given special treatment to a political adviser and ally. This looks like corporate fraud and there is a stench of political corruption. But nobody has been sacked, the Government has said that nobody is responsible and nobody is to blame.’
He said Miss Sturgeon used to ‘pose for photoshoots’ at the Port Glasgow shipyard and hail saving the site as one of her proudest achievements. He called on her to ‘start to take the blame’ as ‘the buck stops with her’.
He also accused the Scottish Government of a ‘cover-up’ and claimed ‘it appears the Government has broken EU laws and it may have committed fraud’.
Miss Sturgeon claimed Mr Ross previously suggested ministers forced CMAL to award the contract against its will and is now suggesting that the quango collaborated with Ferguson. She said ministers are ‘not aware of any impropriety’ but highlighted they were not involved in the process and were not privy to exchanges between bidders and CMAL.
She added: ‘I agree whole-heartedly the issue matters. People watching right now will want to see me and my Government held to account on this: that is right.’
Asked later about Mr Ross’s claims about fraud, a spokesman for the First Minister said: ‘No I don’t accept that at all.’ Asked if he had detected the ‘stench of corruption’, he said: ‘No.’
‘Nobody has been sacked’