Private boat hire to take Green minister Lorna Slater to Rum cost £1,200

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scottish Government minister Lorna Slater’s private hire of a boat for a trip to an island cost £1,200, it has emerged.A freedom of information request revealed the cost.Slater visited the Isle of Rum, off the north-west coast of Scotland, last month to discuss the future of Kinloch Castle.That came after City financier and former Tory donor Jeremy Hosking withdrew a bid for the Edwardian building, blaming an intervention from Slater.The Scottish Government said at the time that hiring a boat, instead of using the Government-owned ferry service CalMac, allowed the minister to spend more time on the island.A return ticket on the ferry to Rum costs £9.40 – although it is not clear how many officials travelled with Ms Slater, which would inflate the price.A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “The minister’s visit on May 12 was well received by residents and community groups.“She met every available adult resident on the day, and had important discussions with the Isle of Rum Community Trust during her visit.“The crossing to Rum was arranged by NatureScot, with the agreement of the Scottish Government, to maximise time on the island speaking to residents and fit with Ms Slater’s ministerial schedule.”But the Tories accused the minister of having “no shame”.The party’s transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: “The Government she’s a member of has created mayhem on Scotland’s ferry network through their incompetence, and yet she thought it appropriate to shun a CalMac ferry at less than a tenner a head return to shell out £1,200 of public money on a chartered boat to take her and her team to Rum.“It’s utterly tone deaf to the plight of islanders, who have to make do with a pitiful ferry service.