FORMER minister Derek Mackay will give evidence to a committee of MSPs probing the so-called ferries fiasco this week.
Mackay, who served as finance secretary from 2018 to 2020 until it was revealed he had bombarded a teenage boy with inappropriate texts, will make a rare public appearance when he appears before Holyrood’s public audit committee on Thursday.
The committee is investigating why two ferries the Scottish Government had built at Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow are severely delayed and over-budget.
MSPs will hope Mackay can provide crucial insight into the decision-making process in the government at the time.
In 2015, when the decision was made to award the contract to the Inverclyde yard then owned by tycoon Jim McColl, Mackay was transport minister.
McColl launched a war of words with the Scottish Government earlier this year when he gave evidence to the committee, blaming them for delays, which have seen both boats four years late and more than two times over-budget, with costs ballooning to at least £240 million.
Mackay will appear in person and will be discussing the findings of an Audit Scotland report which criticised the Scottish Government for not keeping records which explained why ministers accepted risks, leaving the state responsibility for footing the bill.
McColl’s yard – which was later nationalised by the SNP government – did not offer a builders’ refund guarantee as is common, leaving the Government to bear the costs of delays and cancellations.
Mackay was blamed by current Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth for accepting the risks, but emails released by the Scottish Government show the decision had the final greenlight from Deputy First Minister John Swinney, who held a more senior position than the former MSP.
