Ferries row Forbes denies misuse of public cash
THE Finance Secretary has denied the misuse of public funds through the forfeit of £25 million to complete two vessels at the centre of Scotland’s ferry building “fiasco” in a secret deal to pave the way for a shipyard company nationalisation.
Kate Forbes denied any wrongdoing after the Herald on Sunday’s revelation that former Ferguson Marine Engineering chief Jim Mccoll was gathering evidence for potential court action and raising concerns over the “loss” of the money.
THE Finance Secretary has denied the misuse of public funds through the forfeit of £25 million to complete two vessels at the centre of Scotland’s ferry building “fiasco” in a secret deal to pave the way for a shipyard company nationalisation.
Kate Forbes denied any wrongdoing in the wake of the Herald on Sunday revelation that Jim Mccoll, former Ferguson Marine Engineering (FMEL) chief, and one of Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic advisors, was gathering evidence for potential court action while raising concerns over the “loss” of the money.
A member of the First Minister’s Council of Economic Advisers and one of Scotland’s wealthiest men, Mr Mccoll has questioned the legality of the actions of ministers, saying the £25m should have gone towards completing the ferries.
The “lost” £25m related to a bond from HCCI, a subsidiary of Texas-based insurance firm Tokio Marine which ensured that, should Ferguson enter into administration, meaning it was unable to deliver the two ferries, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), the Scottish Governmentcontrolled taxpayer-funded company which owns and procures ferries for state-owned Calmac, would receive the money to enable completion of the vessels.
But to cover themselves against a payout, HCCI had a security over the assets of FMEL, owners of the last civilian shipyard on the Clyde, which stood in the way of the Scottish Government’s nationalisation plan.
At the centre of the debacle is MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802, the lifeline island ferries, which are still languishing in the now state-owned Ferguson shipyard, with costs of their construction more than doubling from the original £97m contract, while their delivery is between four and five years late.
The Scottish Government is still owed more than £40m from the collapse of Ferguson Marine in August 2019, having used £7.5m of what they were owed through loans to buy the business.
Labour’s shadow public finance minister Paul Sweeney asked Ms
Forbes to release all correspondence between ministers, HCCI and CMAL if the £32m “forced” acquisition “was not an alleged misuse of public funds, attempting to cover up for the failures of CMAL and ministers that caused the collapse of the shipyards as asserted by the previous management of Ferguson Marine”. He told Ms Forbes that ministers had the contractual right to claim the £25m refund guarantee which would have seen the insurance company take control of the shipyard.
Ms Forbes said that it was “incorrect” to say that £25m was lost to the public purse but said she was “restricted on what I can say” because there was a court case pending in connection with their deal.
“Agreement was reached with HCCI to release them from a performance bond that they had provided for Fergusons,” she said.
“The commitment right now, having seen that the parliamentary inquiry proceeded with extensive provision of information by ministers transparently and proactively provided, is to ensure that there are vessels delivered for the communities that rely on them to ensure that the workforce are protected, and to ensure that there is a viable future for the yard. And I would hope all members would join me in trying to secure those objectives.”
Earlier, when asked by Mr Sweeney about Mr Mccoll’s concerns about the £25m, Ms Forbes added: “By taking control of the business, we were able to save Fergusons from the risk of administration, lift the threat of redundancy that was hanging over the staff and protect the local economy, all objectives that I’m sure the member supports.”
A fortnight ago, ministers lost a £5m court claim made by HCCI in connection with refund guarantees they said was owed to them as part of their secret deal.
Mr Mccoll says key ministers including the First Minister have not yet been properly held to account for Scotland’s lifeline ferry building debacle, and says he wants a judge to force an end to what he sees as an ongoing cover-up.
Mr Mccoll, the founder and chief executive of private equity investment firm Clyde Blowers, said at the weekend that the waiving of the £25m meant that the ministers’ purchase of the business had effectively cost the taxpayer £32m.
The commitment right now is to ensure there are vessels delivered for communities that rely on them