Scottish The Herald reported that Scottish ministers are facing calls for greater transparency after The Sunday Times revealed that GFG Alliance paid just GBP 5 towards the acquisition of a Highlands Lochaber aluminium plant with taxpayers financing the rest of the GBP 330 million deal, not the GBP 35 million previously thought. Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Mr Willie Rennie said the Scottish Government must end the secrecy and reveal the details of the deal. He said “We knew that the Scottish Government’s industrial intervention strategy was a disaster, but this takes it to a new level. We need a statement from ministers to finally properly explain this deal, the financial exposure for the Government and its detailed plan to recover the position and limit the exposure for taxpayer.”The Scottish Government said it is committed to openness and transparency. A spokesperson said “Our intervention to support the Lochaber aluminium smelter and to secure the continued operation of the Dalzell and Clydebridge steel mills has preserved strategic industrial capacity and supported the livelihoods of hundreds of people since 2016. The Scottish Government receives a commercial fee in respect of the Lochaber Guarantee and Guarantee fee payments are up-to-date. There has been no call on the Guarantee and the Scottish Government holds a comprehensive suite of securities over the assets at Lochaber that have been valued at more than the outstanding amount guaranteed.”The Scottish Government has guaranteed loans for the smelter and the hydro power plants worth GBP 586 million. The UK Government recently ended guarantees on GBP 400 million of loans Greensill Capital made to Mr Sanjeev Gupta's firms. The Scottish Government has been urged to follow suit to protect hundreds of millions of taxpayers' cash.
Scottish The Herald reported that Scottish ministers are facing calls for greater transparency after The Sunday Times revealed that GFG Alliance paid just GBP 5 towards the acquisition of a Highlands Lochaber aluminium plant with taxpayers financing the rest of the GBP 330 million deal, not the GBP 35 million previously thought. Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Mr Willie Rennie said the Scottish Government must end the secrecy and reveal the details of the deal. He said “We knew that the Scottish Government’s industrial intervention strategy was a disaster, but this takes it to a new level. We need a statement from ministers to finally properly explain this deal, the financial exposure for the Government and its detailed plan to recover the position and limit the exposure for taxpayer.”The Scottish Government said it is committed to openness and transparency. A spokesperson said “Our intervention to support the Lochaber aluminium smelter and to secure the continued operation of the Dalzell and Clydebridge steel mills has preserved strategic industrial capacity and supported the livelihoods of hundreds of people since 2016. The Scottish Government receives a commercial fee in respect of the Lochaber Guarantee and Guarantee fee payments are up-to-date. There has been no call on the Guarantee and the Scottish Government holds a comprehensive suite of securities over the assets at Lochaber that have been valued at more than the outstanding amount guaranteed.”The Scottish Government has guaranteed loans for the smelter and the hydro power plants worth GBP 586 million. The UK Government recently ended guarantees on GBP 400 million of loans Greensill Capital made to Mr Sanjeev Gupta's firms. The Scottish Government has been urged to follow suit to protect hundreds of millions of taxpayers' cash.
