Swinney Defends Flynn Over Ferry Gas Leak Briefing Row as Pressure Mounts on Transport Secretary

First Minister John Swinney has publicly backed his transport secretary, Stephen Flynn, amid escalating controversy over whether Flynn was properly informed about a dangerous gas leak on a CalMac ferry before appearing before a Holyrood committee.

In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg programme, set to be broadcast on Sunday, Swinney said newly released emails demonstrated that Flynn had not received a briefing ahead of the Scottish Parliament's transport committee meeting last month. The first minister expressed continued confidence in his cabinet secretary, describing the situation as a lapse that had been swiftly corrected.

Swinney told the programme that Flynn "recognised that he should have been across an issue to be in front of the transport committee and he remedied that right away." He added a candid assessment of the pressures facing ministers, saying: "Nobody's perfect, nobody's infallible." The remarks appeared designed to close ranks around the embattled transport secretary as opposition parties demand further scrutiny.

The dispute centres on Flynn's appearance before the transport committee on 9 September. During that session, Flynn stated he was unaware of a BBC Scotland News investigation published online more than nine hours earlier. That report revealed how a faulty valve caused approximately 700kg of flammable methane gas to be vented from the side of the MV Glen Sannox while the vessel was carrying passengers from Arran to Troon in June 2025.

Flynn told committee members he had missed the report because he was on a FaceTime call with his children shortly before the meeting began. The admission raised immediate questions about whether the transport secretary had been adequately prepared for the session, particularly given the seriousness of the incident involving a passenger ferry and a highly combustible substance.

However, a briefing document obtained through a freedom of information request and subsequently published by the Scottish Sun and The Times newspapers on Thursday evening indicated that Flynn's office had been contacted about the story twice in the half hour before the committee meeting commenced. The disclosure appeared to contradict the impression that Flynn had been entirely in the dark about the matter.

The release of those documents prompted Flynn to issue a forceful denial on social media. Writing on X, he stated: "This is not true. I should've seen the BBC news that morning - but the FOI confirms I was not briefed." He continued: "Jeez, if I'd known, I'd have given a damn sight better answer than I did at the time! An answer that wasn't acceptable and nobody was more frustrated than myself about that."

Transport Scotland, the government agency responsible for transport policy, said the documents released this week "made clear" that Flynn had "not been briefed on the issue" before his committee appearance. According to the agency, the emails sent to Flynn's office had not been shared with him directly, meaning the minister was genuinely unaware of the specific story when he sat before the committee.

Adding further complexity to the timeline, Chris Wilcock, the director of ferries at Transport Scotland, who appeared at the committee alongside Flynn, was apparently aware of the BBC story about the gas leak. Another document obtained by the Sun showed that Wilcock emailed other Transport Scotland officials at 08:13 - more than an hour before the committee meeting began - asking for "lines on the BBC story last night about the gas escape."

The Sun's report concentrated on emails sent by Flynn's office at 17:04 on 9 September, several hours after his committee appearance had concluded. The newspaper characterised those communications as evidence of attempts to "cover-up" the minister's lack of preparedness for the session. One email, since seen by BBC Scotland, states that an attached statement had been "cleared by Mr Flynn."

That statement, quoting the transport secretary, read: "I was not briefed on this incident, however details were shared with the former cabinet secretary for transport on 30 June 2025, in line with agreed processes." The reference to the former cabinet secretary suggests that information about the gas leak had circulated within government at an earlier stage, raising questions about internal communication procedures.

Willie Rennie, the convener of the transport committee, responded to the publication of that email by telling BBC Scotland that Flynn was "only making things worse for himself." Rennie added: "What is alarming is that he seems to have attempted a cover-up, dragging in officials and Transport Scotland. And if he had bothered to listen to the news in the morning before the committee session he would not have been surprised by my questions about the leaking of flammable gas on the Glen Sannox."

The controversy has also drawn in Russell Findlay, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, who described the newly released material as "bombshell new evidence." Findlay demanded that Flynn refer himself to the independent advisers on the ministerial code, arguing that the transport secretary should have admitted to a failure rather than what he characterised as an attempt to conceal it.

"Stephen Flynn should have admitted that he had simply failed to do his job properly," Findlay said. "But instead, this bombshell new evidence suggests that he conspired with officials to execute a sleekit, skin-saving cover-up." The language reflects the intensity of the political row, which threatens to dominate Holyrood proceedings in the coming days.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson defended the agency's position, stating: "As the timestamp notes, a draft media statement was sent to Mr Flynn's office shortly before he arrived at the committee and this was not shared with him. A high-level media statement does not constitute a briefing on the issue." The spokesperson's comments sought to draw a distinction between routine media monitoring and a formal ministerial briefing.

The row raises broader questions about how Scotland's ferry services are managed and how safety incidents are communicated both within government and to the public. The Glen Sannox incident, involving the uncontrolled release of a large quantity of flammable gas while passengers were on board, is a matter of significant public interest, and the handling of information about it is likely to face continued scrutiny from opposition politicians and committee members alike.

With the first minister's public backing, Flynn appears safe in his position for now. But the release of further documents, the prospect of additional committee appearances, and the ongoing interest of both the Scottish Sun and The Times suggest the story is far from concluded. Whether the explanation that Flynn simply missed a news story is accepted by the public and by parliament remains an open question, one that Swinney's "nobody's perfect" defence may not fully resolve.