The ballooning budget at Dundee’s V&A should be investigated by the Scottish Parliament amid fears of a cover-up, according to a leading MSP.
Claire Baker has demanded “an urgent inquiry” into how the museum came to cost £80.1 million despite regular assurances from officials it would be built for £45 million.
The Labour member’s call comes after John McClelland listed a series of failings by Dundee City Council in their handling of the project.
Mrs Baker said: “The warning signs of escalating costs and delays to the V&A in Dundee were raised almost as soon as the winning design was announced.
“These warnings went unheeded.
“The fact that only SNP councillors, SNP MSPs and the SNP Government knew of the huge rise in public costs of the museum, but kept this information hidden from the public and opposition politicians is unacceptable.
“We were told that all designs were subjected to ‘exhaustive scrutiny’ and that the winning design was ‘buildable and practical’.
“We were also told, only weeks before the increase in cost was revealed to the Government, that the museum would be built to budget.
“The McClelland report now casts serious doubts on these claims.”
Ms Baker, who is Labour’s culture spokesperson, is now demanding the Scottish Parliament investigates the issue.
She added: “The education and culture committee must now do their job and hold an urgent inquiry to ensure who knew what and when, who was involved in the decision-making process and ultimately who is accountable.
“We need a full disclosure into the V&A debacle. The Scottish Government cannot be allowed to wash their hands of this whole affair.”
One of Dundee’s SNP MSPs, Joe FitzPatrick, pointed to Mr McClelland’s conclusion that the £80.1 million price tag was “credible” and added that he hoped people would now get behind the project.
He said: “The report is rigorous and has a number of important conclusions.
“One of the most important I think is the statement that he believes that for building this complex and sophisticated design an elite building for the city the contracted price is ‘credible’.
“Hopefully all parties can accept and implement the conclusions and move forward on this basis.”
Fellow Dundee MSP Shona Robison said: “Clearly this report has been comprehensive and has identified some shortcomings and difficulties with the transition between the design competition and the development of an agreed contracted cost.
“The report is also clear that this is a high-quality building project which will be iconic for the city. Let’s hope everyone can now get behind the project as it finally takes shape at the waterfront.”
But Dundee Labour councillor Richard McCready said the people of Dundee deserve answers.
Echoing Mrs Baker’s call, he said: “The Labour group on Dundee City Council’s biggest issue with the V&A project is that, given that we strongly support the V&A project, why were we excluded from information about the project time after time?
“A number of Labour councillors asked about the reality of the costs of the project and we were told on a number of occasions that the original figure of £45m was accurate. It is clear that this had not been the case for a very, very long time. Why was this information kept from the people of Dundee?”