John Swinney defends award of CalMac shipbuilding contract to Polish company

First Minister John Swinney has defended the award of a £175m shipbuilding contract to a Polish company over the government-owned Ferguson Marine yard.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar both criticised the move during First Minister's Questions on Thursday afternoon.

The award of the small vessel replacement programme was announced earlier in the week, confirming Gdansk-based Remontowa would build seven new ferries for the CalMac fleet.

This is despite a bid from Ferguson Marine at Port Glasgow, which would have provided a much-needed lifeline to the struggling shipyard.

Findlay said the ferries “could and should have been built in Scotland”, and he blamed the problems at the Ferguson shipyard on the multiple issues surrounding the delayed and over-budget vessels ordered by the government eight years ago.

The Glen Sannox entered service this year and the Glen Rosa is expected to do so next year, both several years later than planned and with a price tag that has quadrupled.

The Scottish Tory leader said: “After nationalisation, the SNP had a duty to get Ferguson’s back into a position to win contracts legitimately and they have failed to do so.

“SNP politicians want all the credits when they’re grabbing headlines and launching a ferry with a painted-on window, but they never ever accept responsibility for what’s gone wrong.

“And the first minister’s fingerprints are all over this scandal from the very beginning. He signed off on a dodgy deal that’s let down islanders, taxpayers and shipyard workers who face an uncertain future.”

Sarwar said the award to Remontowa indicated the Scottish Government felt Ferguson's was not “good enough” to build Scotland’s ferries.

He said: “John Swinney sends investment and jobs to Turkey, he sends investment and jobs to Poland, and people in Scotland will think it’s nonsense that he’s not building ferries here in Scotland.”

The first minister said the award had been made following a “competitive tendering process”, and ministers could not “operate outside the law” to make the award to Ferguson’s.

But he argued that the fact the shipyard had been able to make a “credible bid” for the contract proved it was in a strong position.

On his role in nationalising the yard, he added: “There would not be a Ferguson’s yard trading just now if I had not intervened 10 years ago to try and secure the future of the yard. I make no apology for doing that.”