A leaked dossier obtained by the BBC suggested that Ferguson Marine Engineering may have benefited from preferential treatment
Deputy First Minister John Swinney was called to answer an urgent question at Holyrood on the matter on Tuesday, when Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson accused the Government and its agencies of “corporate corruption” and a “cover up”.
Mr Swinney said public spending watchdog Audit Scotland would be investigating the claims with the support of the Scottish Government’s top civil servant. “Scottish ministers are not aware of any impropriety in the procurement process, but take the claims made extremely seriously and it is important that they are carefully addressed,” he added.
A spokesman for Audit Scotland said the claims raised “serious questions about the use of public money”. “We will be looking at the substance of the allegations raised around procurement by the programme before deciding if further audit work is required,” he added. In a statement, CMAL said it had previously raised concerns about the awarding of the contract in 2015 and had advised ministers to restart the procurement process at the time. “This position and course of action contradicts the suggestion or allegation of favour towards a particular bidder,” it added.
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