SNP government admits dodgy renewables stat could mean flagship paper needs rewritten

The SNP Government has admitted it may have to update a flagship economic strategy document after using a dodgy renewables claim. In its 10-year National Strategy for Economic Transformation, published in March, the Scottish Government said that the nation is home to 25 per cent of Europe's offshore wind potential.

But SNP-Green ministers were last month forced to concede the figure was incorrect - as it was revealed civil servants had internally raised the alarm about the stat as far back as 2020. Nicola Sturgeon's government has now said its longstanding use of the stat could mean the report and other "legacy documents" need to be revised.

In a series of parliamentary answers to Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, seen by the Record, Scottish ministers also said research was underway to find the true figure. Energy Secretary Michael Matheson wrote: "The Scottish Government has committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland's offshore wind potential.

Scottish Lib Dem chief Alex Cole-Hamilton speaks in the Scottish Parliament. (Fraser Bremner/Daily Mail/PA Wire)

"We will update Parliament once this work is concluded and at that point also consider which legacy documents, including the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, may need to be updated." Cole-Hamilton said: "For years the Scottish Government and SNP and Green parliamentarians cooked the books but their falsehoods eventually caught up with them.

"Given that years have passed since civil servants first warned the Government's figures were dodgy, this research is long overdue." Cole-Hamilton has repeatedly urged ministers to set the parliamentary record straight over the dodgy figure.

It came after analysis from pro-UK thinktank These Islands revealed government officials had warned in emails two years ago the stat was not "properly sourced".

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