Nicola Sturgeon: outgoing First Minister criticised in report over handling of CalMac ferries situation

Outgoing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been criticised for her handling of the CalMac ferries situation.

A Holyrood committee has published a report into the fiasco, which has seen the delivery of new ferries to island communities delayed by five years and well over-budget, almost tripling to £300million. Sturgeon was lambasted in the report for naming Ferguson Marine as the preferred contractor for the job to build the ferries in 2015, despite "considerable negotiations" still being undertaken.

Members of the Public Audit Committee said that Sturgeon's public declaration of a preference towards Ferguson Marine weakened the other bid for the job from CMAL, a government ferry company. The findings in the report were backed by a majority of the MSPs involved in the committee.

The report read: "Given that it was clear that considerable negotiations were still required, we question the first minister's decision to publicly announce the preferred bidder. The committee is not convinced that such a public announcement was necessary or indeed appropriate for this project, especially at that time, given the considerable work and negotiation that was required before CMAL could take a decision to award the formal contract.

It added: "We believe that this almost certainly weakened CMAL's negotiating position with FMEL, particularly as important details of the contract were still being worked out." The report also criticised the delays, cost of the project and the lack of information and communication about the project from ministers and the Transport Secretary.

SNP MSPs Colin Beattie and Willie Coffey were the only two not to agree with the criticisms levelled at Sturgeon. They added that their committee colleagues had "pursued a narrow political agenda" in making their conclusions.

Jim McColl, the owner of Ferguson Marine at the time the job was awarded and a prominent independence supporter, previously said that he believed the Scottish Government awarded the job to his former company for political standing. However, the Scottish Government has dismissed these claims.