The Scottish Government has been left red-faced as a Holyrood trip to Arran to investigate the ferry fiasco was cut short after a ferry was cancelled.

Members of the net-zero committee, who are looking at the effect of the unreliable ferries on island communities, headed out to the west coast to talk to residents.

It is just the latest ferry embarrassment to hit the SNP’s handling of lifeline services to the islands with most islanders already airing their frustrations.

We previously told how the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee have received funding to look at running their own vessels back and forth to the mainland due to exasperation how CalMac has dealt with that.

Many of the boats which are used by the government-owned entity are old meaning that they have reliability issues, with many being taken out of service to fix issues.

Two ferries which were being built to help with this, the Glen Sannox and Hull 802, remain at Ferguson Marine shipyard five years after they were meant to be finished.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters