Email trail shows Mackay backed ferry deal before official sign-off

But an official email has emerged showing that Mr Mackay had supported the deal going through to the firm run by then independence-supporting Mr McColl before Mr Brown signed off on it, while a a key adviser to the First Minister was also kept in the loop.

Then First Minister, Alex Salmond, personally intervened to save the yard in 2014 and persuaded Mr McColl, a member of his council of economic advisers, to take it over just a week before the Scottish independence referendum.

The ships, still being built at the Port Glasgow yard, will be over five years late and could cost £340m.

It is the latest twist in the ferry affair that comes eight months after a missing email detailed that Mr Mackay approved Ferguson Marine being given the final approval the following October - despite concerns surfacing from the Scottish Government’s ferry procurement body, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) that the normal financial safeguards were not in place.

One Transport Scotland official said at the time there was “nothing choreographed” about the release of the crucial 'missing' document on May 11 which pinned the blame for the signing off of Scotland's ferry fiasco contract on Mr Mackay.

Current transport minister Jenny Gilruth was previously accused of treating the Scottish Parliament with "contempt" after claiming to have found a lost document after auditor general Stephen Boyle raised concerns about 'missing evidence' over why ministers took on the financial risk of proceeding with awarding the controversial £97m order to Ferguson Marine without mandatory refund guarantees from the shipbuilder.

READ MORE: Taxpayers lose £80m after ministers' gave £100m carrot to ensure ferries deal went to Ferguson Marine

It has been suggested that the transparency failure was a breach of the Public Finance and Accountability Act and the affair has been reported to Police Scotland.

The Scottish Conservatives have previously accused the government of orchestrating a campaign to try to pin the blame on Mr Mackay - who resigned as the country's finance secretary in 2020 after sending inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media.

The crucial document covering emails from October 8 and 9, 2015 was discovered on the day of a Scottish Conservatives-instigated debate on the calamitous deal which has seen two lifeline vessels still not delivered.

Now Mr Brown, the justice secretary who served as infrastructure secretary with responsibility for ferry services while the contract was awarded to Ferguson Marine, has confirmed that Mr Mackay's hand was on giving the contract to Ferguson Marine from the very start of the process.

An internal Scottish Government email from August 20, 2015 has surfaced which shows that Mr Brown was asked to make Ferguson Marine the preferred bidder with Mr Mackay's blessing.

It says: "In Mr Mackay’s absence, we would be grateful for Mr Brown’s urgent consideration of our recommendation for the award by CMAL of shipbuilding contracts for 2 new ferries. We were able to give Mr Mackay a verbal briefing before he went on leave so he is aware of (and supportive of) this outcome. "

In response Mr Brown's office said in an email the following day:"Many thanks for your submission which Mr Brown has noted. Cab Sec is content to approve the award of the two shipbuilding contracts by CMAL to Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd."

Mr Brown has told the Public Audit Committee, which launched an inquiry into the events surrounding the award of the contract said the email "shows clearly... that Mr Mackay was 'aware of (and supportive of) this outcome'."

The SNP deputy leader had previously come under fire from Richard Leonard, convener of the Public Audit Committee, for the level of answers he has given about his knowledge surrounding the botched contract.

Nicola Sturgeon has previously denied her government staged a cover-up over its decision to hand a scandal-hit ferries contract to Mr McColl's firm saying key documents could not be located.

While transport minister Jenny Gilruth painted Mr Mackay as the 'fall guy' who gave the final sign off of the calamitous contract, papers revealed that it had to get a level of clearance from deputy first minister John Swinney first and it emerged that Alexander Anderson, a key adviser to the First Minister was also kept in the loop.

The latest emails show that Mr Anderson, a senior adviser to Nicola Sturgeon with portfolio responsibility for transport, rural affairs and the environment, was also kept in the loop on the initial preferred bidder sign off.

The Public Audit Committee is examining public spending watchdog Audit Scotland's findings that included that the £97m order was given to Ferguson Marine without the normal builder's refund guarantees, which would protect the vessel procurers, CMAL if anything should go wrong.

When Mr Leonard, asked him to clarify his involvement and knowledge of the ferries contract Mr Brown initially confirmed he received a written submission from officials recommending the award of the contract, but failed to answer whether the then-transport minister Derek Mackay had raised any concerns about the procurement with him.

Mr Leonard wrote to Mr Brown saying the committee expressed "concern" over his responses to various questions, including that he had failed to explain what information Mr Mackay shared with him about the status of the procurement of the ferry vessels, and specifically whether he raised any concerns before going on annual leave during the summer of 2015, before the contract was finally awarded.

READ MORE: Ferguson Marine: Two faulty £240m ferries may never set sail with defects and costs rising under SNP control

Mr Brown had again been asked about what direct action he took on reading the detail of CMAL's concerns over the potential awarding of the contract to Ferguson Marine. CMAL raised concerns that a full builder’s guarantee was not part of the agreement, but the decision was taken to award the deal to Ferguson regardless.

An Audit Scotland report found there was insufficient “documentary evidence” to show why the decision was taken forward without the guarantee, something described as a source of “frustration” for the body.

Mr Brown had previously responded saying: "I have, as requested, reviewed my responses to the three questions put by the committee and I am content that those responses are accurate and that I do not have any further information to provide."

He reiterated a previous Scottish Government stance that ministers were not aware of the potential issues with the contract at the point the decision on the preferred bidder was made in August, 2015.

Mr Brown was also again asked if he would confirm whether Mr Mackay highlighted any concerns about the ability of shipyards tendering for the contract, to provide a full builders refund guarantee, between February and August 2015, either orally or in writing.

And he was asked again if he was aware of correspondence received from Stuart McMillan MSP regarding the procurement process for ferry contracts and his subsequent response.

The Herald revealed that Mr McColl's Ferguson Marine received written guidance from Mr Mackay that refund guarantees were not mandatory to win building work.

Mr Mackay told a Mr McMillan in a letter six months before Mr McColl’s Ferguson Marine yard became preferred bidder that transport bosses saw refund guarantees as only “a preference”.

He added that state-owned CMAL had “on occasion taken alternative approaches” to the bonds while explaining how a “different approach" may be required for shipbuilding contracts”.