Turbulence over taxpayers’ wage for airport boss in takeover plot
Chief paid up to £504 a day as he worked on bid
Scottish Government will need to explain why this was allowed to happen TORY MSP GRAHAM SIMPSON
THE former chairman of nationalised Prestwick Airport was paid up to £504 a day by the Scottish Government – while also working on his own bid to buy the facility.
Mi l lionaire businessman Forsyth Black is at the centre of conflict of interest claims after it emerged he is fronting a takeover attempt.
First Minister John Swinney is now facing questions over why he was allowed to continue in the role of chairman for a number of weeks after the scandal came to light on January 10.
Graham Simpson, Tory MSP for Central Scotland, said: “If this is true then it’s a very serious matter and the Scottish Government would need to explain why it was allowed to happen. There is no way that anyone should be getting paid by the government whi l e al s o working on a bid to take over a government- owned business.”
At a Holyrood c ommi t t e e mee t i ng in December 2023 Black admitted having knowledge of alternative bids that were not passed on to ministers. He said senior management had not been given full information on bids because they could be “very distracting”.
When Black was asked how many bids had been received in total, and then passed to the Scottish Government with a recommendation for sale, he added: “During my time as chair, no bids have been passed to the government.
“We have received a small number of bids during my time as chair but none has passed every test that is required.”
During the same meeting, Black said a new bid was in the process of being assessed, stating: “We will put the bid through the filter and make a recommendation.”
In was only in March this year – a few weeks after Black quit as chairman without e xpl a - nation
– that it emerged he had joined with Onex Corporation to bid for the airport himself.
Black’s LinkedIn page states that he joined Onex in June 2022, just seven months after being named by economy minister Kate Forbes as chairman at Prestwick.
It is unclear at what point Onex and Black began hatching a plan to buy the airport themselves, but Scottish Government officials have insisted they knew nothing about it until January 10 this year.
A Scottish Government source said: “The Public Sector Pay Strategy specifies that chairs of public corporations should be paid between £344 and £504 per day.
“Forsyth Black’s daily rate fell within this range and was capped at the equivalent of 30 days per annum.
“Scottish Government ministers were made aware of an Expression of Interest to purchase Prestwick Airport which Forsyth Black was representing on January 10, at which point he stepped back from operational matters before resigning from the board.
“There is no connection with any previous Expression of Interest or bid received in the past.”
After years of losses Prestwick returned to profit in recent years and made £ 2.1million in 2023 thanks to its military work and Ryanair maintenance and repair facility.