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Hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money has been lost on the SNP’s ‘botched’ nationalisation of an airport and a shipyard. The Scottish Government’s annual accounts revealed the ‘eye-watering’ difference between total investment in Prestwick Airport and the Ferguson Marine shipyard compared with the current value of the two State-owned sites. Opponents claimed the figures show that the public is picking up the bill for SNP incompetence. Since the Ayrshire airport was brought into public ownership for the nominal sum of £1 in November 2013, ministers have had to prop it up with £58.9million of investment – a figure which soared by some £3.4million in 2024-25. However, its current valuation in the Scottish Government’s accounts is just £21.3million. The Ferguson Marine yard in Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, was nationalised by ministers in December 2019. Total investment since then has been £361.9million, following an additional £57.2million last year. But the Scottish Government accounts now value the site at only £99million, and that includes £55million for the Glen Sannox ferry which was transferred to the Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited quango in November 2024. It means total investment has outstripped the current valuation for the two sites by £300.5million – £37.6million for Prestwick Airport and £262.9million for Ferguson Marine. Scottish Conservative spokesman for finance and local government Craig Hoy said: ‘These two botched nationalisations alone have cost Scottish taxpayers hundreds of millions. ‘Along with the eye-watering sums that have been lost in firms backed by the Scottish National Investment Bank, it adds up to a staggeringly bad track record of SNP business decisions.’ It emerged this week that SNP ministers had failed to spend £1billion of their total budget last year. Despite this, spending watchdog the Auditor General for Scotland said there will still be a £4.7billion funding gap by 2029-30 due to policy choices and higher workforce costs. Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra said: ‘The SNP government is addicted to wasting people’s hard-earned money.’ A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government’s interventions in saving both Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Ferguson Marine have sustained strategic businesses and preserved hundreds of jobs.’
