Transport minister's NorthLink remarks branded 'stupid'
Transport minister Fiona Hyslop has been criticised by councillors after she claimed the lack of available accessible cabins on NorthLink was not her "responsibility."
Lerwick North and Bressay councillor Stephen Leask said: "Scottish Transport is a subsidiary agency of the Scottish government and if you're not responsible for that particular area, then I don't know what you are [responsible for].
"That's simply passing the buck. It's not clever rhetoric by the government minister – 'oh it's not my problem' – it's quite laughable to be honest.
"The fact is you can't come up with an answer like that and get away with it. I wouldn't get away with saying something stupid like that.
"They are responsible for Scottish transport. Ministers are spoken to on a regular basis and have meetings about transport issues, so surely they can have some input into the problems Shetland are having with NorthLink," he said.
SIC environment and transport chairwoman Moraig Lyall added: "I think she has to accept that the Scottish government are the people through Transport Scotland who write the contracts for NorthLink and source the boats. There's a joined responsibility to address these sorts of issues."
Read the full story in this week's Shetland Times