Bosses at a Scottish shipyard were “fairly and squarely” to blame for the calamitous delays and costs overruns at Ferguson Marine, it has been claimed.

As The Herald reports, Kevin Hobbs, chief executive of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) – the government body which placed the order for two new ferries at the yard – also said he was “desperately upset and desperately concerned” that they were still not ready.

An inquiry into the ferry debacle by Holyrood’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee will begin hearing oral evidence next week.

Ferguson Marine shipyard, which was acquired by tycoon Jim McColl’s Clyde Blowers empire in 2014, was nationalised last year after collapsing into administration in the wake of the dispute.

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