Scots Green minister spends £1,200 of taxpayer cash to hire private ferry

A Green minister in Humza Yousaf’s administration spent £1,200 of taxpayers’ money chartering a private boat to a Scottish island rather than pay £9.40 for the “pitiful” public ferry service, it has emerged.

A 42-passenger catamaran was chartered to take Lorna Slater, the Circular Economy Minister, last month to an official visit to the Isle of Rum, off the north-west coast of Scotland.

The Scottish Government said that it would ensure the best value for taxpayers and allow Ms Slater to “maximise time on the island”.

However, the Scottish Tories have disclosed the boat hire cost £1,200, compared to less than £10 for a return ticket on a CalMac ferry. The latter service would have allowed her to spend more than three hours on the island.

The catamaran was charted for Ms Slater and seven other people in her group, despite the Scottish Greens urging people to stop using their private cars and take public transport instead.

The Tories said that the decision was “utterly tone-deaf” given the islanders are being forced to “make do with a pitiful ferry service” thanks to mass breakdowns in Scotland’s ageing ferry fleet.

Graham Simpson, the shadow Scottish transport minister, said: “Lorna Slater clearly has no shame. The government [that] she’s a member of has created mayhem on Scotland’s ferry network through their incompetence.

“And yet she thought it appropriate to shun a CalMac ferry at less than a tenner a head return, to shell out £1,200 of public money on a chartered boat to take her and her team to Rum.”

Ms Slater visited Rum on May 12 to discuss the future of Kinloch Castle, where she was accompanied by members of the Isle of Rum Community Trust, as well as officials from the Scottish Government and the NatureScot agency.

Jeremy Hosking, a millionaire City financier and former Tory donor, had withdrawn his bid for the Edwardian building, blaming an intervention by Ms Slater.

On Fridays, the MV Lochnevis ferry leaves Mallaig at 12.45pm and arrives at 2.10pm. That would have given her three hours and 10 minutes on the island before the return crossing departed at 5.20pm.

If Ms Slater required more time, a longer day trip is possible on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, when the timetable would have allowed her to stay seven hours and 25 minutes.

A return ticket costs £9.40, meaning that her entire group could have made the trip for £75.20. Instead, Holyrood chartered the boat from Western Isle Cruises at nearly 16 times that cost.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The minister’s visit on May 12 was well received by residents and community groups. She met every available adult resident on the day, and had important discussions with the Isle of Rum Community Trust during her visit.

“The crossing to Rum was arranged by NatureScot, with the agreement of the Scottish Government, to maximise time on the island speaking to residents and fit with Ms Slater’s ministerial schedule.”