The chief executive of the Scottish Government-owned ferry operator CalMac did not take his car on a busy ferry after being forced on a long detour to meet angry islanders over service chaos.
Islander protesters say Robbie Drummond admitted he left his car on the mainland as he took a detour to make the trip to South Uist to meet concerned business leaders and residents who have been protesting over the loss of a vital lifeline service till the end of the month.
Ferry users were told that Mr Drummond was not able to get his car on the MV Hebrides which was travelling on an alternative route to North Uist given by CalMac because it was too full and had to go as a foot passenger.
But CalMac says he deliberately took the decision to travel as a foot passenger to ensure he wasn’t taking up any space that a customer could use.
Mr Drummond is visiting South Uist to "discuss concerns" about local ferry connnections and "spend time with local staff" in the wake of a shut down of services till the end of the month between the mainland and Lochboisdale - the port which links South Uist to the mainland. It led to hundreds taking to the road by foot, by car and by lorry to the Lochboisdale ferry terminal on South Uist on June 4 to vent their anger.
READ MORE: 'New Highland Clearances' - CalMac to review strategy after island ferry chaos outrage
Island negotiators say that Mr Drummond was forced to go on a lengthy detour as the usual link from Mallaig on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland to South Uist has been shut down due to continuing issues with CalMac's ageing fleet.
Robbie Drummond meets one group of concerned South Uist residents.
Mr Drummond is said to have told a delegation that he left his car after being asked about how well his trip went.
One of the delegation meeting him told the Herald: "I asked him how he got on with the ferry going across. He just smiled and said: 'Fine'. When I asked if he got his car on the boat he said 'no' and he confirmed he had to leave his car at Uig and walk onto the ferry as a foot passenger.
"It is incredible. It just shows just how difficult things are.
"And yet they are at pains to use Lochmaddy as an alternative. How can he divert people to Lochmaddy, when he wasn't able to get on the ferry himself.
"We don't know how he got from Lochmaddy. We assume he got a lift or hired a car.
"I suspect that the decision was only taken to go last week after the demonstration and so it became more difficult to get a car on. That is what we have to deal with."
Because the South Uist ferry is out of action, it meant Mr Drummond had to travel get to Uig on the Isle of Skye to take the ferry to Lochmaddy on North Uist to get to the meetings on South Uist.
To get to South Uist through the North Uist detour from CalMac's Gourock headquarters would involve a road detour of over 100 miles and a journey time that it is over an hour longer than if the Lochboisdale ferry was operating.
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The shortest trip from CalMac's Gourock headquarters to Mallaig by car is 152 miles and takes three-and-a-half-hours. The 9.50am Mallaig to Lochboisdale ferry on Monday - which is out of action and at the centre of the row - is timetabled to take three-and-a-half hours.
The alternative route to get the North Uist ferry from Gourock would take a car to 231.5 miles to Uig and take nearly two hours longer than going to Mallaig at around five-and-a-half hours.
The Lochboisdale ferry chaos demonstration on June 4
On Monday, the only day crossing from Uig to Lochmaddy was at 9.30am and takes one hour and 45 minutes. And to get by road to Lochboisdale involves a 42 mile drive which normally takes just over an hour.
For anyone who has to take the road detour from Mallaig to Uig, the journey time is nearly twice as long as the ferry crossing to South Uist on its own.
The alternative road route diversion to get the North Uist ferry from Uig would involve an 161-mile three-and-three-quarter hour drive - 15 minutes longer than the time it would take to get the ferry trip to South Uist.
The biggest difficulty is going back the way you came the same day - as the only return ferry from Lochmaddy to Uig is at 11.45am. The first to take you back leaves Lochmaddy at 7.15am.
But it was confirmed that Mr Drummond would not be returning till Tuesday at the earliest as he is due to have further meetings.
CalMac declined to discuss the finer details of Mr Drummond's travel arrangements.
CalMac was approached for formal comment on the ferry difficulty.
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