A FORMER Scottish Government minister has called for a full public inquiry into the 'scandal' surrounding the Ferguson's ferries fiasco.

Kenny MacAskill MP — who forced an adjournment debate at Westminster on the debacle — says he wants the UK Government to now intervene.

In a hard-hitting speech in the House of Commons, Mr MacAskill blamed the 'catastrophic failure' on the Scottish Government and its vessels procurement quango CMAL.

The ex-SNP justice secretary — now Alba's depute leader — declared that the 'core' issues of the matter are reserved to Westminster, as he described the actions of Holyrood ministers and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) as 'the modern equivalent of the Titanic racing into the iceberg'.

Mr MacAskill told the Commons: "I hope that ministers may be able to provide answers, if not an inquiry, into a scandal that needs resolved."

A £97m Scottish Government contract for two dual fuel Caledonian MacBrayne ferries was awarded to Ferguson's — which was rescued from administration by billionaire businessman Jim McColl — in 2015, but things quickly turned sour.

A bitter dispute with CMAL over design specifications ensued and plunged Ferguson's into a financial tailspin.

Ministers nationalised the Port Glasgow shipyard in 2019 and the ferries — MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802 — are now more than five years behind schedule.

Mr MacAskill said: "At the core are procurement and administration, both issues reserved to Westminster."

He added: "Procurement and liquidation lie at the heart of this mess.

"Responsibility rests with CMAL and the Scottish Government."

Mr MacAskill accused CMAL of insisting on dual fuel ferries which he said CalMac did not want.

He backed up his argument with the testimony of a Scottish Government appointed adviser, marine expert Commodore Luke Van Beek.

The commodore told a Holyrood committee: "801 [Glen Sannox] and 802 were not the ships CalMac wanted."

He added: "When I met the chief executive of CalMac I was very surprised to discover that it was not and had not been involved, except in having made some observations right at the beginning of the process, when it said that it did not want LNG ships."

Mr MacAskill told the House of Commons: "It's clear what was signed off by CMAL was lacking in specification and from that most problems arose."

The MP added: "It's also not surprising that CalMac didn't want LNG ships, as there's no LNG infrastructure in Scottish ports.

"I asked CMAL what consideration was given to onshore supply systems, what was in situ at the time of requisition and what the situation is now for LNG?

"This is the answer, 'At the time the only load out facility in the UK was the Isle of Grain. There were three projects looking at the bulk storage in Scotland, two on the east coast and one on the west coast — so far none of these have been built out'."

Mr MacAskill added: "The Isle of Grain is in Kent on England's east coast.

"No wonder CalMac didn't want it."

Former Ferguson's owner Mr McColl has accused the Scottish Government of 'forcing' the yard into administration rather than saving it from that fate.

Mr MacAskill told the Commons that administration was not recommended by Commodore Van Beek.

The MP said: "He advised arbitration, instead the Scottish Government chose administration. Why?"

Mr MacAskill declared: "There needs to be clarity on CMAL's actions and the role of [Scottish] Government ministers responsible.

"A public inquiry should be held.

"The Holyrood inquiry suggested an independent external review.

"I believe that is inadequate.

"This straddles reserved and devolved competencies."

During his speech Mr MacAskill also called for CMAL to 'be abolished', adding: "CalMac in consultation with the communities, who must have rights, should be responsible for the selection of ships.

"The management team that has been put into Ferguson's need removed.

"We need clarity on what went wrong.

"But fundamentally we need to secure a ferry service for our remote communities and provide a future for our shipyards."