A FORMER councillor who is now a senior Alba Party figure has insisted that the re-appointment of a past owner could help steer Ferguson Marine towards a brighter future.

Following the shock sacking of the Port Glasgow firm's CEO, David Tydeman, last week, Alba general secretary Chris McEleny has called for former boss, Jim McColl, to be reinstated.

McColl, whose Clyde Blowers company saved the local site after it entered administration in 2014 before further financial problems five years later led to its nationalisation, has previously stated that he would 'take the yard back for £1'.

Ex-Gourock councillor, Mr McEleny, said the ongoing delays and cost rises for the unfinished Glen Rosa and Glen Sannox CalMac ferries should prompt a radical rethink from the Scottish Government.

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He said: “The cabinet secretary, Màiri McAllan, has proven she is willing to listen and act on the right solutions.

"As someone that’s been watching on closely for a decade, my advice to her would be as follows: accept that the specifications of these vessels were always wrong; get them out to sea as quickly as possible under the power of diesel; sack the board of CMAL; and then get Jim McColl back in to run the yard.

“We have a real opportunity in Inverclyde to build something special and use Jim McColl’s leadership to leverage in real investment to our area to create jobs and sustain the yard for the future.

"I would urge the cabinet secretary to take this advice so that we can finally put this data behind us and move onto a brighter future for Inverclyde.”