NICOLA Sturgeon has been urged to explain her knowledge of a controversial ferry contract as it emerged the former minister who she appeared to blame for signing the £97 million deal was on leave at the time.

The construction of two crucial ferries at Ferguson's shipyard in Port Glasgow for Scotland’s island routes is five years behind schedule and it is forecast the two vessels could now cost a total of £400 million.

Earlier this week the First Minister said “the buck stops with me” but moved to pin the blame for the fiasco on the disgraced Derek Mackay who was transport minister at the time of the deal being signed.

But last night it emerged Mr Mackay was on holiday when the contract was given the green light and it was Keith Brown, who is both deputy leader of the SNP and justice secretary in Ms Sturgeon’s cabinet, was asked to approve it in August 2015. At that time he was cabinet secretary for infrastructure, investment and cities.

READ MORE: Kenny MacAskill accuses Nicola Sturgeon of ducking blame over ferries contract

An internal document, obtained by the Scottish Sun, sent to Mr Brown on August 20, 2015 states: “In the absence of the Minister for Transport and Islands on leave, your approval is sought for CMAL to award shipbuilding contracts of a total cost of £96m for 2 new major ferries for the CHFS network to Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL).”

It does not say whether approval was given by Mr Brown, who went on to become economy secretary before being sacked from government in 2018, less than three weeks after becoming party deputy leader, to spend three years on the backbenches before his reappointment last year to the cabinet.

Earlier this week, Audit Scotland published a scathing report on the procurement of the two new vessels. 

The first ship Glen Sannox was due to be delivered this summer but on Wednesday a further eight-month delay was confirmed.

In its report Audit Scotland found that the contract was approved without normal financial safeguards - prompting warnings from CMAL - but it was unable to establish why the order was given to Ferguson's without such guarantees.

READ MORE: Ministers approved ferry fiasco contract despite ‘significant' taxpayer risk warnings

Ferguson's bid was the most expensive of the six yards that tendered but outscored them on "quality".

The Audit Scotland report said it was “not clear what discussions took place between Scottish ministers and Transport Scotland about the contract award.

“There is no documented evidence to confirm why Scottish ministers were willing to accept the risks of awarding the contract to FMEL, despite CMAL’s concerns.

“We consider that there should have been a proper record of this important decision.”

Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “Nicola Sturgeon’s cynical attempt to pin this fiasco on disgraced former minister Derek Mackay has fallen apart in less than 48 hours.

“The memo the Scottish Government published purporting to show Derek Mackay’s approval being sought for the contract to be awarded to Ferguson Marine is a red herring.

“That was dated October 8, 2015 - yet this was already a done deal long before then.

“We know Keith Brown’s approval was sought on August 20, 2015 – while Derek Mackay was on holiday – and Nicola Sturgeon was in Port Glasgow on August 31 to announce Ferguson Marine as the preferred bidder.   

“Despite her best efforts to throw Derek Mackay under a bus at FMQs, Nicola Sturgeon can’t escape the fact that she, Keith Brown and the then-Finance Secretary, John Swinney, were central to the disastrous decision to ignore CMAL’s concerns and award the deal to Ferguson.

“The First Minister’s crude spin and deflection only adds to the murkiness of this whole sorry scandal.

“So, while Derek Mackay should be summoned to the Scottish Parliament to explain his role, it is essential that a full, independent public inquiry is held so that we can discover all the facts about this shameful debacle.

"Nicola Sturgeon has serious questions to answer about her involvement and the decisions of her government. If she genuinely accepts ultimate responsibility, she needs to be open and honest about every detail of this scandalous waste of public money.   

“Scottish taxpayers deserve answers, while Scotland’s island communities need to know why they are still waiting for these lifeline ferries years after they were due to be completed.”

On Thursday, Ms Sturgeon was accused by Mr Ross of throwing Mr Mackay “under the bus” over the fiasco.

The First Minister insisted she took full responsibility for the failures but appeared to suggest it was her former cabinet secretary who approved the deal against expert advice.

In Parliament on Wednesday, finance secretary Kate Forbes said she couldn’t say which minister took the decision to overrule CMAL. 

But During First Minster’s Questions the following day, after Mr Ross asked Ms Sturgeon to say who “gave the green light” for the contract, the SNP leader said: “Who was Transport Minister at the time in question is, of course, a matter of public record. That was Derek Mackay.

“But of course, this is a government and this may be alien to the Conservatives, I understand, but this is a government that operates by collective responsibility.

“And ultimately, as with any decisions - whether I am personally involved in them or not, responsibility stops with me.”

Mr Mackay -  who was promoted to finance secretary in May 2016 - was forced to quit the cabinet in 2020 after he was caught inundating a 16-year-old boy with "predatory" messages.

During First Minister's Questions, Mr Ross said Ms Sturgeon was trying to blame her former colleague.

"The First Minister says she takes ultimate responsibility then throws an ex-minister, a disgraced SNP ex-minister under the bus," he said.

He told MSPs: “We are fortunate in Scotland, to have two governments and there's only one of them currently building ships in Scotland that actually sail, and that is because of this First Minister's record in government. 

“So let's look again. Ferguson Marine was the most expensive bidder. Yet, as the First Minister has just said, was chosen on the basis of quality. Chosen on the basis of quality when ferries are two and a half times over budget, hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money has already been wasted.

"There is a five-year delay at least. And there are still 175 faults with the ferries that are still being built. 

“This is one of the worst public spending disasters since devolution and who messed up? Who knows in the SNP's secret Scotland because all the evidence is gone.

"Audit Scotland couldn't get to the bottom of a number of points. The only scraps of paper we have left about this disastrous decision are the old SNP press releases that claimed they were saving Scottish shipbuilding.” 

Responding, the First Minister said there was “one issue where Audit Scotland refers to a lack of documentation – I think that is a matter the Government has to reflect on seriously and will.”

The First Minister said it was a “deeply regrettable situation”.

Opposition parties yesterday demanded Ms Mackay and Ms Sturgeon appear before a Holyrood committee to answer more questions about their “major mismanagement” of the contract.

Neil Bibby, Labour’s transport spokesman, has written to Richard Leonard, convener of the public audit committee, demanding Ms Sturgeon and Ms Mackay give evidence.

Mr Leonard said the committee would consider the Audit Scotland report on the matter at their meeting on April 21.

Mr Mackay quit the cabinet in February 2020 after the Scottish Sun revealed he contacted the 16-year-old boy over social media without knowing his age, then sent him 270 messages in six months.

He apologised “unreservedly” to the boy, and was suspended by the SNP with a party investigation launched into his behaviour.

He left the SNP in March 2021 and the probe’s findings were never made public. 

At the time, he was seen as a potential successor to Ms Sturgeon.