DEMANDS for a police investigation into the Ferguson's ferries 'scandal' are mounting following revelations made in a TV documentary suggesting the decision to award a £97m contract to the shipyard was rigged.

Conservative and Labour politicians are calling for a criminal probe into how Scottish Government procurement quango Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) gave the job to build two lifeline ships to the Port Glasgow yard.

The BBC Scotland Disclosure programme said it had obtained a leaked dossier of detailed documentation suggesting that Ferguson's was allowed to enter the tender process without being able to provide a 'mandatory minimum requirement' of a builder's refund guarantee.

MV Glen Sannox and sister ship Hull 802 are still unfinished and five years late for delivery to service island communities which have suffered a catalogue of breakdowns within the ageing Caledonian MacBrayne ferry fleet.

In an emergency question to the Scottish Parliament, Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: "In short, it appears that Ferguson's received special treatment from this Scottish Government and its agencies — special treatment that nobody else got, special treatment that might might have broken laws which could open the government to legal action.

"This is a scandal.

"It looks like corporate corruption, and the fact that we're only finding out now means it has been a cover-up as well."

Mr Simpson added: "If the government accepts this is wrong, and they appear to do that, they don't know how it has happened and who is responsible, then surely they must now call in the police to investigate?

"If Ferguson received special treatment, for whatever reason, it is beyond a scandal — it's a crime, in my view.

"This alleged rigging of the contract, this potential fraud, has cost the country £250 million and it's rising.

"So will the government now call in the police so we can finally find out the truth?"

The BBC investigation made a series of other serious allegations concerning the procurement process and Depute First Minister John Swinney declared that he took the material presented to him by the programme 'seriously'.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has reportedly called for a full public inquiry — which would involve witnesses giving evidence under oath — and said that the police should be called in if corruption is suspected.

Audit Scotland says it is looking at the 'substance of the allegations' raised before deciding if further audit work is required.

Mr Swinney told the Disclosure programme: "These issues have got to be looked into further as a result of what you've put to me today.

"I listen to this material in good faith — it's not been put to me in the past but I do assure you that it is material that I take seriously, about which I have concerns, which raises fundamental issues for me about fairness and the appropriateness of the tendering process, and I have to be satisfied that that those issues are properly looked at."

CMAL said in a statement issued in response to the documentary: "Initial internal searches have found no evidence in our files to support the allegations presented to us.

"We have asked the BBC to share its evidence to allow us to investigate further."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We are not investigating any criminality at this time."

A spokesman for parliament's public audit committee said that it would consider the BBC report 'at an early opportunity' and 'respond accordingly'.

The Scottish Government nationalised Ferguson's in 2019 following a complete breakdown between the yard, which was saved from administration in 2014 by business tycoon Jim McColl, and CMAL.