Edinburgh trams inquiry branded 'farcical' as report could be delayed yet again

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The inquiry report into the Edinburgh trams debacle could be delayed until September, the Record can reveal.The team in charge of the probe say they “hope” it will be ready before autumn - even though the findings have been with the publishers since April.A spokesperson for the Inquiry denied holidays were having an “impact” on publication after being asked if chair Lord Hardie was going on a summer break.Labour MSP Alex Rowley said: “It is farcical that after years of delays and a spiralling bill, we still don’t have a clear answer on when we will get this long-awaited report.“This inquiry is our chance to determine what went so badly wrong with the original tram contract, and it is vital that it delivers the answers we need without any more time-wasting.”The Inquiry was set up to establish why the tram project was £400 million over budget and five years late.But the focus has now shifted to the cost of the Inquiry itself and why the final report has not come out.The Hardie-led investigation has cost the taxpayer in excess of £13m - the same as the Iraq War inquiry - and the report was sent to the publishers months ago.The Inquiry said at the time it would be with the publishing company for “several weeks”.A source told the Record it was likely to be another two months at least before it was released.The insider said: “It should not be taking this long.”An Inquiry spokesperson refused to answer a direct question on whether Lord Hardie, a judge who has been paid over £1m for his role as chair, was going on holiday in the summer.He said: “Lord Hardie’s final report remains with the publishers.“Preparing a document of its size for publication is a complex and lengthy process.