THE new Finance Secretary is at the centre of a cronyism row after using his parliamentary expenses to steer hundreds of pounds to an SNP colleague.
Derek Mackay billed taxpayers almost £700 last July for work with Craig Mackay Design.
Parliamentary records show the Renfrewshire North & West MSP charged the public purse £680 for the “design and printing of parliamentary surgery cards x 20,000” by the firm.
The one-man business is run by former SNP councillor Craig Mackay from his home in Troon, where he is also the local SNP organiser.
His wife is Glasgow councillor Jennifer Dunn who was the SNP Holyrood candidate for Ayr.
Derek Mackay campaigned alongside Dunn and her husband last month, tweeting a selfie of himself with the couple and the message: “Good team backing @Jen4Ayr today in Ayr”.
Other SNP MPs have also used Craig Mackay Design for their websites.
In the last parliament, ministers Alex Neil and Roseanna Cunningham paid the firm £804 and £480 respectively via expenses, and backbenchers Angus Macdonald, Bill Kidd and Dave Thompson paid £180, £521 and £1,442.
Despite having the same surname, Derek and Craig Mackay are not related.
Derek Mackay, 38, was transport minister in the last parliament, but was promoted to the Cabinet on Wednesday, replacing John Swinney at finance. Craig Mackay, 39, was a Glasgow councillor from 2007 to 2012.
He admitted knowing the MSP but denied there was anything untoward in the payment.
He said: “Derek is well capable of making decisions for himself. I don’t know if he got quotes from anyone else for the work I did. Is the suggestion that people should go elsewhere rather than to people they know? That would seem a bit perverse.
“I got him quite a good price and made a small cut for myself. The bulk of that invoice amount for was the [outsourced] printing costs.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “It's not a good look for the new Finance Secretary to appear to be spending public money on his pals in the SNP. All expenses must be above board and deliver value for money. People will be concerned at any suggestion that Derek Mackay is simply sending public work in the direction of a friend."
An SNP spokesman said: “These services were provided by a local company in accordance with the rules of the Parliament and as such the expenses incurred were entirely appropriate.”
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