Controversies
In September 2002, Finnie was forced to apologise for branding the director general of the Confederation of British Industry an "English prat".
Later that month, Finnie apologised for giving wrong information to the Scottish Parliament during a debate. He had told Parliament that sheep were no longer grazing on the banks of Loch Katrine, which provides Glasgow with its drinking water (a previous outbreak of the cryptosporidium bug in the Loch was believed to have been caused by livestock grazing at the Loch's shores). However, Scottish Water later contacted him to say that the sheep were still there and would not be removed until September 2007. Both the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives made calls for Finnie to be sacked, although the First Minister, Jack McConnell gave him his support.
In June 2006, Finnie cancelled a tender for a new fishery protection vessel for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. The tender has been provisionally awarded to English firm Appledore, but Finnie claimed there was a "fatal flaw" in the tendering process which could have left the Executive liable for damages if the tender had proceeded. However, the Scotland on Sunday reported that a rival bidder, Port Glasgow based Ferguson's was both in Finnie's constituency, and that he was a lifelong friend of the chief executive.
Read more about this topic: Ross Finnie