The SNP Government paid a further £28.5million to Ferguson Marine from its “Covid Business Resilience and Support” department, it can be revealed.

In March, the Scottish Express revealed £20,377,050 was paid to the troubled shipbuilder by the department between February and June 2021.

Now further official documents have been published by the notoriously secretive Nationalist administration showing payments up to the end of last year.

They reveal that a further £28,514,569 was paid between August and December 2021 for capital work on vessels 801 and 802 at the Port Glasgow yard.

It takes the total for the year to almost £49m, with every penny of it coming from the Covid Business Resilience and Support directorate.

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