(Image: ScotRail)
The Scottish organiser for the train drivers' union has accused Stephen Flynn of "tenuously hiding" behind process after it was decided a company linked to illegal Israeli settlements will not be removed from a ScotRail tender process.
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles is among five companies bidding to provide at least 69 new electric and battery-electric trains.
CAF is included on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) database of businesses involved in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Basque company is involved in construction and maintenance of the red and green lines of Jerusalem's light rail system which takes in the Neve Yaakov settlement in East Jerusalem, and Gilo, a settlement founded on confiscated Palestinian land which, with its expansion over the years, has formed a 'wedge' between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank.
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ASLEF, the train drivers' union, and the RMT, the union for the transport industry, both wrote to Stephen Flynn, the transport secretary, urging him to withdraw CAF from the tender process and stating that their members would not work on locomotives provided by the company.
In his response, Mr Flynn stated that "decisions must be taken on the basis of all available evidence", and that inclusion on the database "on its own is not likely to be sufficient grounds to exclude that company from a procurement procedure".
He confirmed that the inclusion on the OHCHR database was identified during the pre-qualification process and was considered at the time.
Mr Flynn further stated: "Any decision to exclude rests with the public body awarding the contract, and which is in a position to consider the evidence available to it."
ASLEF's Scottish organiser, Kevin Lindsay, has now responded with a strong rebuke.
View of an area near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Mr Lindsay wrote to Mr Flynn: "I have to say from the outset (your reply) is disappointing and does not address the substance of my first letter to you.
"It seems you are still tenuously hiding behind a process you imply you cannot control, even though you have the final say. Tragically and disappointingly, you have confirmed that you are still prepared to give Scottish public money to a company profiting from the misery and oppression of the Palestinian people.
"This response does not address the BDS motion that I raised with you, which your government moved and then passed in the last parliamentary session.
"You have outlined the Scottish government rhetoric around supporting Palestine, but if not backed up by action, they are, just like your BDS motion is, a lump of meaningless words. Given that by shortlisting CAF in the list of bidders, you are not following the policy of the government or the will of the Scottish Parliament.
"You can call for, recognise and support as much as you want. If you are not prepared to back it up with action, then I’m afraid, Mr Flynn, the only conclusion I can draw is that this your previous talk was performative and hypocritical.
"It is all very well to sit up all night thinking about clever one-liners that you think will score you points in a Parliamentary debate. Sadly, Mr Flynn politics as we see it is not a debating society. It is not about how you appear taking on hapless Tories. It is instead judged on your essence, not performative appearance, and the decisions you are prepared to make, which have a tangible real-world impact. The public judge politicians by their actions, not words!
"In essence, have you got the courage to deliver whatever convictions you have? Are you prepared to take decisive action against anyone collaborating with a state that you acknowledge is committing a genocide? Sadly, you have shown that you haven’t and you won’t.
"You have failed to show the values that Scotland as a nation should and must aspire to. Rather, you have given an impression to the rest of the world that as a country we talk a good game - sometimes we even call for things - but ultimately, we do not deliver.
"You had a chance to show that Scotland really does stand beside the Palestinian people and utterly failed to do so. That is hugely disappointing to ASLEF and the wider trade union movement, but also I’m sure to many people here in Scotland.
"To repeat what we said to you in September this is a matter of very grave concern to ASLEF. We, alongside other rail unions and the STUC have adopted a position of BDS. Unlike your government, if we adopt a policy we see it through. That means if this company was to end up winning this contract we would boycott those trains. We will not drive trains operated by a company that is complicit in war crimes."