By Steve Bargeton, political editor

Chancellor Gordon Brown was against a new building to house the Scottish Parliament and favoured a “second-hand option” instead.

But former Scottish minister Sam Galbraith told the opening session of the Fraser inquiry into the Holyrood fiasco that his advice was ignored.

In a riveting start to the £1.2 million probe, Mr Galbraith dismissed as “total rubbish” any suggestion that Prime Minister Tony Blair was in any way involved in choosing the controversial site at the bottom of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

He made it clear the decision was made by late First Minister Donald Dewar alone.

Mr Galbraith also told Lord Fraser of Carmyllie he had warned Mr Dewar that newly-elected MSPs were incapable of running the project, and urged him to keep it within the Scottish Executive.

“I was always opposed to handing it over to Parliament,” said the former MP and MSP. “I knew the moment we handed it over to them the costs would go through the roof. I told Donald that.”

Mr Galbraith’s fears proved well founded as the cost of the project has rocketed from an initial estimate of £10 million- £40 million to over £400 million.

Over the next five months the inquiry, headed by Angus peer Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, will try to discover why.

It has been rumoured that key decisions about the location of the permanent home for the Scottish Parliament were made in Downing Street and therefore the UK Government is to blame for the current shambles.

Yesterday this key point was put to Mr Galbraith by QC to the inquiry John Campbell.

“Westminster had no input whatsoever,” Mr Galbraith said. “I have seen in the paper that somehow Tony Blair forced us to have a new building.

“All these decisions were made in Scotland.”

However, Mr Galbraith did volunteer that Mr Brown had at one time expressed the view that a “second-hand” building should be considered.

“Gordon was always keen on a second-hand option,” he said.

“We just ignored that point. He (Brown) might have been Chancellor but he was not telling us what to do.”

Mr Galbraith said that despite being a close personal friend of Mr Dewar, and one of his ministers, he had no formal involvement in the selection of Holyrood. He said key decisions were not taken collectively, but by Mr Dewar alone.

This was echoed by the only other witness yesterday, former UK minister Brian Wilson, who was also one of Mr Dewar’s Scottish Office ministers after Labour came to power in 1997.

mr wilson said, “Donald was very much the custodian of this process. He would be absolutely hands-on.”

During Mr Galbraith’s evidence the inquiry was shown a draft of the White Paper which led to the Scotland Act which established the Scottish Parliament.

It showed that the “capital cost” of a permanent home was estimated at £24.5-£34 million at that time. That draft was seen by Mr Dewar, former First Minister Henry McLeish, who gives evidence today, and MSP Wendy Alexander, an adviser to Mr Dewar.

However, by the time the final White Paper emerged the cost had been radically altered to “between £10-£40 million.”

Mr Galbraith said that he had always been in favour of a new building and had told Mr Dewar as much.

“I think he (Mr Dewar) wanted a building of some architectural significance—an outstanding building,” he said.

“I didn’t want some second-hand building for the Scottish Parliament.

“I think he (Mr Dewar) agreed with that.”

Mr Galbraith said Mr Dewar told him the £50 million or so mooted for a new building was not for Holyrood, but was for a “bog standard building in a greenfield site.”