Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she's going to reply "all and any questions" on the ferry fiasco at a government-owned shipyard.
Opposition MSPs final week known as for the First Minister to provide proof to a Holyrood committee on how Ferguson Marine was awarded a contract to construct two new ferries for Caledonian MacBrayne.
The yard in Port Glasgow was purchased over in 2014 by billionaire industrialist Jim McColl and was handed the ferry work the next yr regardless of considerations raised by civil servants over worth for cash.
The vessels stay unfinished and Ferguson Marine was nationalised in 2019 after the enterprise was plunged into administration after years of delays and price overruns.
McColl used an interview with a Sunday newspaper yesterday to assert SNP ministers acted in haste - and in opposition to the recommendation of ferry firm CMAL - so the contract could possibly be introduced at their autumn convention in 2015.
He mentioned the contracts got “for political functions” and “every little thing was in regards to the optics and timing the bulletins for political acquire.”
Requested about McColl's feedback at present, the First Minister instructed LBC Radio: "It's completely, flatly, not the case.
"The procurement of the ferries - the awarding of that contract - was performed consistent with regular procurement processes with correct due diligence.
"And naturally, Jim McColl signed that contract and it was his firm that then turned answerable for setting up the vessels.
"Clearly, the state of affairs with the delays to the ferries and the overrun when it comes to the price is extremely unsatisfactory and I would definitely not counsel in any other case.
"There's a number of classes being discovered and naturally there's a focus now the yard is in public possession on getting these ferries accomplished as shortly as doable."
Requested if she maintained that Derek Mackay was answerable for the contract, the FM added: "What I keep is what I mentioned in parliament.
"We're a authorities that operates by collective accountability - and finally I'm answerable for all the selections that the federal government take."
She continued: "I've by no means shied away from being accountable to parliament in answering questions.
"And on this, I've no hesitation in answering all and any questions.
"The Authorities has taken selections that always had been about defending jobs in shipbuilding and defending the way forward for industrial shipbuilding on the Clyde."
Graham Simpson, the Scottish Conservative transport spokesman, mentioned: "It is not regular observe to disregard the consultants, because the SNP did after they discarded CMAL’s recommendation.
"It’s not regular observe that Audit Scotland can’t discover a shred of proof to assist a authorities resolution. It’s not regular observe to begin constructing ferries with out agreeing a design for them.
"And it’s undoubtedly not regular observe to eliminate the standard safeguards that shield Scottish taxpayers.
"The one factor that’s regular observe about this scandal is the SNP Authorities have as soon as once more made an entire mess of it and price Scottish taxpayers a fortune.
"Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are tying themselves in knots attempting to elucidate away a disastrous resolution that Jim McColl claims they made for political functions."
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