THE Scottish government faced fresh questions today over its failure to give work in renewable energy to Scotland’s workforce.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard urged the government to develop an “industrial strategy” to protect jobs after it emerged that work on the proposed Seagreen wind farm in the Firth of Forth has been awarded to a Chinese company.

He said that while the SNP describes Scotland as the “destination of choice,” the government’s “destination of choice for renewable energy jobs is not Scotland, it is China.”

Addressing SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister’s Questions (FMQs), Mr Leonard asked: “Why are these companies like EDF and SSE ignoring you?

“And will you finally understand that we need an industrial strategy — we need a plan for jobs — and that this is just too important to be left to the market?”

In response, the First Minister said that the Scottish government was limited in many of these policy areas, asking Mr Leonard to consider this during the party’s “period of reflection” on independence.

Ms Sturgeon was asked why, after she pledged her support to a trade-union campaign to bring contracts to Scottish manufacturing firms — in particular BiFab yards — there were still instances of jobs going overseas.

Ms Sturgeon said that if it was not for the government the BiFab yards would now be closed.

But a GMB spokesperson said there is “no green jobs revolution here in Scotland” and said: “We didn’t campaign to save an empty yard.

“After tomorrow there’ll be just three workers still employed at [BiFab’s yard in] Arnish. This is an utter scandal, and a national disgrace.”