Humza Yousaf has branded Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross a ‘hypocrite’ for refusing to reveal his party’s membership numbers.
The SNP leader hit back at Mr Ross during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday over the Ferguson Marine ferries fiasco.
The Inverclyde yard was nationalised in 2019 when problems with the Glen Sannox and as-yet-unnamed Hull 802 were discovered.
The ferries are already five years late and estimated costs have ballooned to £293m from an initial budget of £97m.
Scotland’s auditor general, Stephen Boyle, told parliament’s Public Audit Committee earlier in the day that “it would be folly to suggest that is a reliable figure that will be spent to deliver the vessels at this stage”.
Mr Ross stated: “Only a party that bought a campervan for £100,000 could think that paying hundreds of millions of pounds for two massively delayed ferries is a good deal.
“And we all know from the scandal engulfing the SNP that they really struggle with finances, but this is getting ridiculous.
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“So will the first minister stop the secrecy and be honest for a change. How much higher is the real cost to taxpayers going to be to deliver these two ferries?”
Mr Yousaf agreed that the ferry overruns and delays were “unacceptable”
He added the Scottish government is “reviewing projections” with ongoing due diligence expected to conclude within the next few weeks.
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Noting that Mr Ross had taken a swipe at the SNP during his question, the first minister replied: “Can I remind him of course that this week the SNP did release its membership numbers.
“I’m pleased that we’ve seen an increase in our membership numbers over the last few weeks. And the Tories, of course, demanded that we release our membership figures. We’ve done that.”
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In March it was revealed that the SNP had lost around 30,000 party members since 2021.
The membership total has since risen from 72,186 last month to 74,889 as of last Friday.
The FM added: “Of course, Douglas Ross does not practise what he preaches. He hasn’t released his membership figures.
“There is a word for people that don’t practise what they preach – they’re called hypocrites, presiding officer.”
