Swinney backs Flynn in ferry gas leak row and says 'nobody's perfect'
The first minister says he has confidence in his transport secretary, who denies being briefed about the ferry incident.
By BBC News
John Swinney has backed Scottish Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn amid a row over whether he was briefed about a serious gas leak on a CalMac ferry.
The First Minister said he had confidence in Mr Flynn, who has denied being formally briefed before appearing before a Holyrood transport committee last month.
The incident involved the MV Glen Sannox, where about 700kg of methane gas leaked while the vessel was carrying 82 passengers from Arran to Troon in June 2025.
Emails released under freedom of information rules showed that Mr Flynn’s office had received correspondence about the incident before the committee appearance. The messages warned that he could be asked about the leak.
Mr Flynn later said he had not been briefed about the incident. Transport Scotland has maintained that a draft media statement sent to his office did not amount to a formal briefing and had not been passed to him.
The organisation said formal briefing was provided later. It also said the previous transport secretary had been briefed at the time of the incident.
Mr Swinney said the correspondence indicated that Mr Flynn had not seen the relevant material before appearing before the committee. He said the transport secretary recognised that he should have been informed and took steps to address the issue afterwards.
The First Minister added that “no one is flawless, and no one is infallible”, while continuing to defend his minister’s handling of the affair.