The Scottish Conservatives have today called on John Swinney to make a personal statement to parliament after Lord Hardie criticised him for a “lack of candour” in the Edinburgh trams inquiry report.
Lothians MSP Miles Briggs has written to the former finance secretary urging him to explain his role in the £1billion scandal.
In his report, Lord Hardie accuses Mr Swinney of an “abdication of responsibility” over decisions such as withdrawing Transport Scotland’s oversight on the project in 2007. Hardie then described the former Finance Secretary as “pulling strings” when issues over works on Princes Street emerged.
Among Lord Hardie’s stinging criticisms of the former Deputy First Minister are the following:
- “It amounted to an abdication of responsibility for ensuring that public funds provided by Scottish Ministers for a specific project were spent wisely.”
- “The clear picture is of a decision being taken to suit the minister’s political wishes, with the detail of it and the justification for it being left to be worked out later…”
- “Mr Swinney resisted the description of this as ‘pulling strings’, but in my view that is exactly what it was… I cannot reconcile this with Mr Swinney’s claim that he sought to exercise influence through the ‘proper channels’.”
Most damningly of all, Lord Hardie, referring to Mr Swinney and Transport Scotland senior director Ainslie McLaughlin, said: “As with all witnesses who gave evidence in person, they testified on oath and their lack of candour calls into question their integrity.”
Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothians region Miles Briggs said: “Lord Hardie’s report contains eviscerating criticism of John Swinney and his role in the trams scandal – most notably his ‘lack of candour’.
“That’s why I have written to the former finance secretary urging him to make a personal statement in parliament on the issue.
“The public deserves an explanation for, and response to, the criticisms made of the SNP Government by Lord Hardie, given that this whole saga has cost the taxpayer in excess of £1 billion.
“John Swinney has serious questions to answer, and it’s in his interests to defend his actions.
“For such a senior figure in the SNP Government to have his integrity called into question is damning.”