Scottish Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn told a Holyrood committee in September that he had not been briefed on a methane leak aboard a CalMac ferry—yet documents released under freedom-of-information rules show his office received two emails about the incident that same morning. The discrepancy, reported Friday by BBC Scotland and other outlets, has revived questions about what ministers knew before they faced MSPs.
What Flynn said in committee
On 9 September, Flynn appeared before the Scottish Parliament’s transport committee hours after BBC Scotland published an investigation into a gas leak on the vessel Glen Sannox. Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie asked whether Flynn had seen the story. Flynn replied that he had not been given a briefing “unless I’ve missed it,” then clarified that he was not across the day’s news on the leak.
At the time, the exchange looked like a straightforward denial of prior notice. Flynn’s department later said the transport secretary had followed agreed processes and that any earlier notice to government had gone to his predecessor in the role.
What the FOI trail shows
A ministerial engagement briefing released through FOI lists emails sent to Flynn’s office at 08:48 and 09:04 on 9 September—before his committee appearance. The messages concerned the Glen Sannox leak story and included a CalMac comment in the second note, according to BBC reporting. Transport Scotland said the emails were sent “for awareness” but were not shared with Flynn before he testified.
Later on Friday, The Sun published additional messages it said were sent from Flynn’s office at 17:04 on 9 September, drafting a media response to the leak coverage. Opposition parties argued that the timeline undercuts Flynn’s claim of ignorance when he sat before MSPs.
Government response and political pressure
Transport Scotland insisted Flynn “had not been briefed on the issue” before the committee session. A spokesperson said a draft media statement reached his office shortly before he arrived at Holyrood but was never passed to him. The agency said an earlier briefing about the underlying incident had gone to the former cabinet secretary for transport on 30 June 2025 under established protocols.
The Glen Sannox leak itself emerged from a separate FOI by BBC Scotland, which detailed methane detection aboard the troubled ferry. The vessel has been central to Scotland’s years-long ferry procurement crisis, and any safety incident aboard it carries outsized political weight.
First Minister John Swinney has faced parallel scrutiny this week over whether his government keeps ministers fully informed before they defend policy in public. Flynn has not resigned, but opposition leaders said the email record demands a fuller account to parliament about who in his office saw the CalMac material—and why it never reached the secretary before he denied knowledge under oath in committee.