Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothians region Miles Briggs said: “Lord Hardie’s report is a scathing critique of the SNP Government and City of Edinburgh Council’s roles in a national scandal.
“After years of delays and millions of pounds of public money, we at last have some conclusions on the appalling mishandling of Edinburgh’s tram network.
“Lord Hardie is highly critical of councillors and the arms-length bodies responsible for the project – but he also singles out Scottish government for criticism.
“He is clear that ministers failed to protect the public purse and acted in the SNP’s political interests, rather than the public interest. John Swinney, especially, has questions to answer for removing safeguards that would have protected grant funds.
“The SNP government must now respond to this damning indictment of a fiasco that dragged on for more than a decade, and resulted in huge avoidable costs to the Scottish taxpayer.”
Note: Text of Lord Hardie’s summary Video-text.pdf (edinburghtraminquiry.org)