THE OFFICIAL bill for the Scottish Parliament building was revealed yesterday as £414.4 million—£16.1 million less than the previous estimate, writes Steve Bargeton, political editor.

Yesterday Presiding Officer George Reid called for “closure” to what has become known as the “Follyrood Fiasco.”

He said it had been decided not to take legal action against contractors involved in the construction phase of the building.

However, action is to be taken over costs arising from the fall of an oak beam in the debating chamber in March last year.

Referring to the inquiry led by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, Mr Reid said, “As Lord Fraser made clear, everyone involved in the project—consultants, contractors, MSPs, staff—might have managed it better.

“In making our announcement today, we are not trying to sweep past problems out of the way.

“The most we can claim is a steely determination to get a grip on the project, to move us in and then to move us on, and never to give up on our dedication to get back what we could for the public purse.”

Mr Reid said he hoped that the project could now be formally closed financially and psychologically.

The two-year exercise had involved checking 37 crates of documents, each containing thousands of items.

Some £8 million of cost savings were found and another saving of £8.1 million had been achieved by not having to draw money from a contingency fund, it was revealed.

Mr Reid also briefed MSPs on “Project Flora”—a secret £600,000 exercise in which outside experts were called in to advise if legal action should be taken against those involved in the construction phase—particularly against the main consultants.

Last autumn they reported that litigation or arbitration would not be “appropriate” given the likely costs, the legal and factual complexities and the uncertain outcome.

“In short, it would not be likely to represent good value for money to pursue legal claims,” Mr Reid reported to MSPs.