A former Glasgow City Council finance chief who was accused of misleading colleagues landed a plum job on the board of troubled nationalised shipyard Ferguson Marine.
Martin Booth, who spent six years as the council’s finance director, was praised for his “deep expertise in finance and governance” when he was hired by the scandal-hit ferries yard last year. But Booth became embroiled in two major scandals at Scotland’s largest local authority before leaving in late 2024.
Auditors said he was involved in the decision to award £1million in “golden goodbyes” to five top officials to local outcry, with SNP council leader Susan Aitken saying she had been “personally misled” over the payments. Booth was also at the heart of a row over the alleged cover-up of teacher cuts in the council’s budget.
A source said: “It’s laughable to see Martin praised for his expertise in ‘governance’ when he repeatedly featured in rows over transparency and accountability at the council. This doesn’t bode well for Ferguson Marine turning a corner.”
A 2023-24 audit of Glasgow council by the Accounts Commission found the senior officer exit packages bypassed scrutiny from councillors and the actions of a group of senior staff “fell short of the values and principles” they were expected to follow.
Its report noted an email in 2021 by Booth to former council chief executive Annemarie O’Donnell – one of five who received huge early retirement packages – saying he was “fully supportive” of the payouts as “consistent with council policy”. O’Donnell later paid back her £357,845 pension payment.
View 2 ImagesSusan Aitken said she’d felt ‘misled’ by golden goodbyes scandal(Image: Reach plc)
Inverclyde-based Ferguson Marine shipyard was taken into public ownership in 2019 after failing to deliver two CalMac ferries on time.
Booth left the council towards the end of 2024 and received no pension enhancement. He was appointed a non-executive director to Ferguson Marine’s board in April 2025 as part of efforts to “strengthen its leadership team”.
In a statement announcing the hire, the shipyard said his “financial expertise and governance experience will be invaluable to Ferguson Marine as the company continues to focus on financial sustainability”.
It comes amid an ongoing legal case involving Glasgow councillor Fiona Higgins. He complained to the Standards Commission in 2024 after she accused him of trying to “wilfully and cynically mislead councillors” by masking cuts of up to 450 teacher jobs.
Booth claimed the comment breached the councillors’ code of conduct. Higgins has since taken the standards watchdog to a judicial review over claims she is being denied a fair hearing, with the Court of Sessions set to hear her case on August 4.
Graeme Thomson, chair of Ferguson Marine, said: “Martin has been a trusted adviser and dedicated member of the Ferguson Marine Board for over a year. His appointment was made following a robust, transparent, and competitive recruitment process managed by an external partner.
“As a qualified public finance professional with decades of experience managing complex public sector budgets, his expertise has been a vital asset to the Board as Ferguson Marine continues to drive forward improvements to its internal control environment and financial sustainability. He is a source of sound advice and his expertise has supported the team to consistently improve the governance frameworks in place across the business.
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“Since then, we have consistently evidenced enhanced internal controls backed up by external audit reports, annual accounts and securing a five year pipeline of work through a direct award from the Scottish Government.
“Improving and maintaining consistently high standards of corporate governance remains a core focus for the Ferguson Marine Board and leadership team. Martin will continue to be a key part of that.”
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