Chamber and committees

Willie Coffey, as I mentioned at the start of the meeting, joins us via videolink. He has a number of questions on nationalisation.

Thank you, Mr Cook. I am conscious of the fact that Mr Gillies is an accountable officer. It might be that we will go directly to Mr Gillies on some of our areas of questioning.

First of all, I invite the deputy convener, Sharon Dowey, to put some questions to you.

While we are on the subject of documentary evidence, at our meeting on 26 May, there was some discussion about what Mr Brannen kept referring to as “the bit of paper”. In his evidence, he said:

“with further investigation by Fran Pacitti and the records team it”—

the paperwork—

“turned up … I accept that, on that occasion, that one bit of paper was not easy to find, but we did find it … Now that we have the bit of paper that explains that the minister accepted that, that is the totality of that exchange.”—[Official Report, Public Audit Committee, 26 May 2022; c 7, 8.]

Fran Pacitti, what were you asked to look for and who asked you to look for it?

Do you think that that is what you found?

That is not the view of Audit Scotland. Even after the discovery of 11 May and the publication that you were able to make, Audit Scotland said:

“The email confirms that ministers approved the award of the FMEL contract. But there remains insufficient documentary evidence to explain why the decision was made to proceed with the contract, given the significant risks and concerns raised by CMAL.”

Notwithstanding what you have said, Audit Scotland’s view is quite different, is it not?

Special adviser to whom? Mr Rhatigan, do you know the answer to that?

Okay. Thank you.

I turn to 31 August, which was the day when the First Minister went to the Ferguson Marine shipyard to announce that Ferguson’s was the preferred bidder. We have discovered that the negotiations had not been concluded at that point, and the bone of contention—the builder’s refund guarantee—was still under active negotiation. We later see CMAL’s view of what that meant and the risks that it thought it involved.

Do you think that making a high-profile announcement at the shipyard would have prejudiced the negotiating position?

Not £106,000.

Okay—£106 million.

I am sorry, Colin; Willie Coffey is anxious to get in on the nationalisation question.