Holyrood inquiry starts off with a row of its own

30 Oct 03
Chancellor Gordon Brown had urged Scottish politicians to locate their Parliament in an existing building rather than construct a new one, the Holyrood inquiry was told this week.

31 October 2003

Chancellor Gordon Brown had urged Scottish politicians to locate their Parliament in an existing building rather than construct a new one, the Holyrood inquiry was told this week.

Former health minister Sam Galbraith said Brown appealed directly to former first minister Donald Dewar, who died three years ago. 'Gordon was always keen for a second-hand building, but we just ignored that. He might have been chancellor but he was not telling us what to do,' he said.

The inquiry is investigating why the cost of providing the Parliament building has soared from an estimated £40m in 1998 to more than £400m.

But the opening of the inquiry on October 28 was overshadowed by a dispute with BBC Scotland over its refusal to release documentary videotapes of a programme being made on the troubled building.

Dewar commissioned Wark Clements, the company owned by BBC journalist Kirsty Wark and her husband, to make a major documentary on the Holyrood project. About £350,000 of public money has already been invested in the film, which is estimated to cost £820,000.

Inquiry chair Lord Fraser of Carmyllie has demanded that BBC Scotland release unseen tapes which include interviews with Dewar and the late architect Enric Miralles.

However, the BBC has rejected the request, arguing that to provide the material would break 'clear undertakings' given to those interviewed.

John McCormick, controller of BBC Scotland, said release of the tapes would also run contrary to the corporation's editorial policy that footage is not released to third parties prior to transmission. The material is intended for a series, entitled The Gathering Place, due to be televised once the much-delayed Holyrood project is completed.

Wark, who was a member of a panel that selected Miralles as the architect, was accused of a potential conflict of interest when her company was chosen in 1998. She strongly rejected the charge.

There was further controversy earlier this month when it was disclosed that the BBC and Scottish Screen, the quango responsible for the film industry in Scotland, were holding urgent discussions to plug a £50,000 gap in the film's budget.

PFoct2003

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