Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur, has lambasted the Scottish Government for ‘washing its hands’ of its commitment to Road Equivalent Tariff (RET), after Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop declared that introducing it on the Pentland Firth would be ‘distorting the market’ under UK subsidy control rules.

Road Equivalent Tariff is a distance based fares structure to provide one single overarching fares policy across Scotland’s entire ferry network.

RET was first introduced on west coast routes in 2008, and SNP ministers previously promised to extend it to Northern Isles routes.

Mr McArthur said: “I have campaigned for RET to be introduced to Northern Isles ferry routes for fifteen years. Despite repeated promises from a succession of SNP First and Transport Ministers, however, all that has changed over the years has been the excuses. Now even the pretence of a commitment appears to have been chucked overboard.”