ROSS Finnie was at the centre of another embarrassing row last night after admitting he misled MSPs during a highly-charged debate on the recent health crisis affecting water supplies.
Just days after the embattled environment minister was forced to apologise over his "English prat" remark concerning Britain’s top business leader, Mr Finnie had to apologise to the parliament for giving wrong information on an issue which was centra
l to the recent cryptosporidium scare in Glasgow.
He told MSPs that all sheep had been removed from the banks of Loch Katrine but admitted later that there were still 3,000 sheep grazing there and they would not be removed until 16 September.
Mr Finnie said the mistake had been caused by an error in communication over whether the arrangement to remove the sheep had been completed.
He added: "I must confess I am extraordinarily embarrassed by it. It is important in the sense that we pressed Scottish Water to do what West of Scotland Water had not done and that was to remove the sheep."
Opposition MSPs immediately seized on what they saw as another highly damaging gaffe by Mr Finnie over a crucially important aspect of the water crisis, which resulted in people in areas of Glasgow last month being told to boil their water.
A report into a previous outbreak last year had recommended in November that all livestock should be removed from the shores of the loch, which supplies Glasgow, amid fears that they could be the source of the bug.
Bruce Crawford, the SNP environment spokesman, said: "We can no longer trust what this man says. I am absolutely astonished that Ross Finnie has seen fit to apologise for getting the number of sheep on Loch Katrine wrong but he can’t bring himself to apologise to the people of Glasgow for a fiasco of his own making."
Mr Crawford claimed Mr Finnie was a minister no longer in control and added: "The question is how long this man can be allowed to go on. Jack McConnell must move immediately to have him sacked."
The Scottish Tories’ spokesman on water, John Scott, said it beggared belief that Scottish Water, having been told to remove the sheep, had not done so considering the implications for public health.
He said the situation did not surprise him given Mr Finnie’s "shambolic" performance in the parliament. "The minister will now be licking his wounds and should consider his position," Mr Scott said.
Questioned during a debate on the parasite scare, Mr Finnie said the sheep had been removed from the shores of the loch.
However, the SNP health spokesman, Nicola Sturgeon, pointed out that, in a statement which coincided with the debate, Scottish Water admitted around 3,000 sheep were still there - although they would be sold by 16 September.
Mr Finnie admitted he had "inadvertently given erroneous information" to the parliament, saying: "I had that checked out and I understand that the correct position is that the final arrangements for the removal of sheep are under way.
"But regrettably what I should have added was that these sheep will not be sold until 16 September and I apologise to the chamber for not having that information."
Adding to the minister’s embarrassment, it also emerged that the deputy health minister, Frank McAveety, who sat beside Mr Finnie during the debate, had known that the sheep were still there.
Mr McAveety, who closed the debate on behalf of the Executive, said: "In terms of the preparation for my part of the debate, I was aware of that information.
"The information I had available allowed me to clarify for the benefit of the parliament."
In spite of Mr Finnie’s latest embarrassment, Mr McConnell is expected to stand by the minister. Liberal Democrats also voiced their support.
A source close to the First Minister said Mr Finnie had been acting on advice given to him but had been let down by the information. He had moved quickly to correct it. "I’m sure he is disappointed in the quality of information he received from Scottish Water," the source said.
The full article contains 720 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
