Call for parliamentary inquiry into BiFab collapse

The company lost out on a d£2bn deal to manufacture eight wind turbine jackets at its yard in Methil

The Scottish Conservatives have called for an urgent parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of BiFab .

On Thursday, the steel fabrication firm, that has plants in Fife and Lewis, announced it was going into administration after failing to secure new contracts.

The Scottish government - which owns a third of the company - said it could no longer financially support the firm.

The Scottish conservatives have accused the government of failing workers.

BiFab - which has yards in Methil and Burntisland in Fife, and Lewis - had been seen as the best hope for offshore wind manufacturing in Scotland.

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It said it had been unable to compete with yards owned or subsidised by governments in and outside the EU.

Thursday's statement said: "BiFab can confirm that the board has agreed to place the company in administration following the Scottish government's decision to remove contract assurances."

The company was rescued by the Scottish government in 2017 and bought by Canada-based DF Barnes - part of the JV Driver Group - in 2018 with the company believing the Scottish government would be the "primary financiers".

BiFab has received £52m from the Scottish government.

The Scottish Conservatives finance spokesman Murdo Fraser, who is also a Fife MSP, said: "BiFab's administration could not have come at a worse time for the workers in the run-up to Christmas and my thoughts are with them and their families.

"They deserve better than the way the SNP have shambolically handled operations at these yards, and that's why we must have a parliamentary inquiry and an urgent audit to find out what exactly has gone wrong here."

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He said SNP ministers were "quick to boast about having saved jobs" but were "hiding away from their responsibilities" now that the yards were in administration.

"Instead of trying to blame everyone else for their failures, they need to show leadership and be held accountable for their bad decision-making," he said.

"An audit is necessary to determine how SNP ministers failed so spectacularly while handing over more than £50m of public money."

Last week, BiFab said the Canadian owner had repeatedly offered to offload shares to the government at no cost. It said this would give the Scottish government more flexibility to back it.

It said ministers' statements about it had been inaccurate or untruthful and JV Driver had agreed to become involved on the understanding that ministers would provide most of the finance required to win new contracts.

However, the Scottish government has said that as a minority shareholder it has been "exhaustive" in its considerations of support options and said there was no legal route for either the Scottish or UK governments to provide further financial support.

A £2bn deal to manufacture eight wind turbine jackets at BiFab's yard in Methil recently collapsed as about 500 staff were preparing to return to work on it.

'Political hypocrisy and failure'

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has said the Scottish government is committed to working with administrators and trade unions to find a new future for the company's yards.

A joint statement by trade unions GMB Scotland and Unite on Thursday said BiFab's administration exposed the "myth of Scotland's renewables revolution as well as a decade of political hypocrisy and failure, in Scotland and the rest of the UK."

On Wednesday, MSPs voted to "condemn" the Scottish government's decision to withdraw financial guarantees and to call on it to "act now to secure the future" of the yards.

The motion, which was passed by 61-60, said the government was "risking Scotland's reputation as a green investment hub".

The Scottish government has been contacted for comment.