MSP Jamie Greene has urged the Scottish Government to invest to secure the future of Ferguson Marine.

He branded a Holyrood speech on the shipyard by cabinet secretary Mairi McAllan as a 'non-statement'.

Mr Greene said she also cast doubt on the scheduled delivery dates for the two ferries being built at the yard, as she refused to guarantee they would meet the dates she had set out in her own statement.

Mr Greene said: “Ms McAllan instead simply reiterated the bad news we already knew; that costs continue to rise, that there are doubts over the total budget, there are doubts over the delivery dates, and she has now drafted in external auditors to assess how realistic all of the above is.

“Workers at the yard will be none the wiser about their future.

“Worse still, an SNP minister repeatedly refuses to rule out awarding the publicly owned and nationalised yard any future work.

"Even the SNP backbenchers are now publicly criticising her for this.

 “The Inverclyde economy is in desperate need for long-term strategic investment."