NICOLA Sturgeon has been mocked after inadvertently admitting the CalMac ferry breakdowns on her watch have put workers into “really difficult circumstances”.

The First Minister was laughed at by opposition MSPs at FMQs when she tried to defend her government’s approach to the state-run ferry service on Scotland’s West Coast.

The service has been plagued by old vessels breaking down and needing repairs, with the average age of the boats now 24 years, against an original expected lifespan of 25.

Plans to update the fleet have been hampered by two new boats being built of the Clyde going £150million over budget and running five years late.

West Scotland Tory MSP Jamie Greene asked Ms Sturgeon what action the Government was taking to reduce ferry breakdowns to the country’s islands.

She said: “We fully understand the frustrations encountered by passengers during disruptions and therefore remain committed to on-going support for vital lifeline services. 

“Since 2018, we have made £14.5 million of funding available for upgrades on the CalMac Ferries vessels through the introduction of the ferries resilience fund. 

“That has helped primarily to replace obsolete systems and reduce the likelihood of breakdown on older vessels. We are also committed to investing a further £580 million in the infrastructure investment plan.”

Mr Greene said “frustration” was an underestimate of the strength of feeling among island communities suffering from an unreliable ferry service.

He quoted the chair of the Mull & Iona Ferry Committee saying that Scotland ‘has one of the worst public ferry systems in the world’.

He asked if the unbuilt CalMac ferries would be sailing by 19 October 2023, the proposed date of Indyref2, “or does the First Minister perhaps have other things on her mind?”

She replied: “The completion timetable for the two ferries is, of course, a matter in the public domain and work is taking place to deliver that.”

Argyll & Bute SNP MSP Jenni Minto then tried to help Ms Sturgeon by saying she had been affected by a ferry breakdown on Monday “but thanks to the excellent CalMac staff, I and other ferry users were able to get on later ferries”. 

She asked: “Does the First Minister agree that the staff of CalMac work tirelessly to help all their customers when breakdowns happen?”

Ms Sturgeon said: “Absolutely, the CalMac staff do an excellent job. They often do that job in really difficult circumstances.”

Opposition MSPs then started laughing at the First Minister, as the difficult circumstances include working with clapped out boats the Government has failed to replace.

Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone was forced to intervene, telling MSPs to let the First Minister be heard. 

Ms Sturgeon added: “Thank you, Presiding Officer, because I want to take the opportunity to thank everybody who works in CalMac for the excellent service that they provide to the travelling public.”

Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said: “The government knows it has massively let down the people of Scotland over the ferries scandal.  

“In what was a revealing slip of the tongue, the First Minister knows she is responsible for the difficult circumstances she herself describes.”