NICOLA Sturgeon may have broken the ministerial code in relation to the CalMac ferries scandal, a Tory MSP has claimed.
Craig Hoy said it would be a “clear breach” of the ethics rules if the First Minister was unable to produce a record of a key meeting she had with the owner of the yard behind the scandal.
Breaching the code would be considered a resignation offence.
Ms Sturgeon last week told Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee that she met Jim McColl, boss of the Ferguson Marine yard on the Clyde, on 31 May 2017.
She said he told her the yard, which agreed to build two new CalMac ferries for £97m in 2015, was having cash flow problems and needed ‘milestone payments’ for work done to date.
Shortly after the meeting, Mr McColl asked the state-procurement body CMAL for more money to complete the ferries.
The yard ultimately went broke and was nationalised in 2019, and the ferries remain under construction, five years late and £150m over budget.
Ms Sturgeon had one of her hand-picked special advisers with her rather than a full-time civil servant and was unable to say if the meeting was minuted.
Mr Hoy, a member of the committee, queried the potential lack of a minute during her evidence to MSPs on Friday.
Ms Sturgeon said: “I am happy to go and look at what came out of that meeting. From what I remember, I would have then asked officials to do certain things.”
Pressed on whether a minute was taken, she said: “I am trying to be honest - I do not, as I sit here right now, know the answer to that question.
“I have seen the outcome of what I asked officials to do. I will certainly look to see whether that can be provided to the committee; I do not see why it could not.”
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon denies disastrous CalMac ferries deal was 'jobs for the boys'
Ms Sturgeon also defended taking a political appointee rather than an impartial official to the meeting with Mr McColl.
“Special advisers are civil servants - they are temporary civil servants - so that was not an issue in that respect,” she said.
Mr Hoy has today written to Ms Sturgeon asking for the recorded minutes of the meeting and clarification on why the meeting was held, who was present, and whether taking a special adviser alone was compliant with the Scottish Ministerial Code.
He said: “Nicola Sturgeon’s meeting with Jim McColl in May 2017 is key to getting to the bottom of the ferries fiasco which has left Scotland’s island communities feeling so betrayed by her government.
“It would be a clear breach of the Ministerial Code for minutes of such an important meeting not to have been recorded, so I can’t imagine those present would have allowed that to happen.
“So, it’s incumbent on the First Minister and her staff to locate the minutes, so that we know the reason for the meeting, what was discussed and who was present at it. That’s why I’ve written to her.
“I’m also seeking clarity from Ms Sturgeon about why she believes her special advisor’s attendance fulfilled the requirement for a permanent secretary or official to be present at the meeting.
“It’s clear to me that special advisors are political appointees and, therefore, don’t constitute independent civil servants.
“Ms Sturgeon has claimed throughout the ferries fiasco that she has nothing to hide and is eager to be as transparent as possible. Now is her chance to prove that.”
Section 4.22 of the Scottish Ministerial Code states: “Meetings on official business should normally be arranged through Private Offices.
“A private secretary or official should be present for all discussions relating to Government business.
“Private Offices should arrange for the basic facts of formal meetings between Ministers and outside interest groups to be recorded, setting out the reasons for the meeting, the names of those attending and the interests represented.”
While the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers makes it clear that special advisers are not officials in the way full-time civil servants are, but are in a class of their own.
READ MORE: Sturgeon 'grandstanding' over ferries deal to spite UK Government, says former yard boss
It states: “Special advisers are temporary civil servants appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
“Special advisers are bound by the standards of integrity and honesty required of all civil servants as set out in the Civil Service Code.
“However, they are exempt from the general requirement that civil servants should be appointed on merit and behave with impartiality and objectivity, or that they need to retain the confidence of future governments of a different political complexion.
“They are otherwise required to conduct themselves in accordance with the Civil Service Code.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister gave a commitment to see whether information relating to the meeting with Mr McColl on 31st May 2017 – and the actions she asked officials to take forward as a result of the meeting – can be made available to the committee if members have not already seen that, and will respond to Mr Hoy and the Committee in due course.
“As the First Minister said in her initial response to Mr Hoy, special advisers are temporary civil servants appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and, as such, constitute an 'official' in terms of the Ministerial Code."
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