Sir Robert steps up Holyrood challenge

Sir Robert McAlpine's legal challenge against the Scottish Parliament could be helped after the release of a damming report into the procurement of the £430m Holyrood project.
The 50-page report, drawn up in 2000 by cost consultant Gardiner & Theobald (G&T) and recently obtained by independent MSP Margo MacDonald under the Freedom of Information Act, warns of breaches of EU procurement rules in awarding Bovis the contract in 1999. Bovis was initially removed from the bidding and then reinstated.
"It is disappointing that so many guidelines, rules and procedures set by the Scottish Executive, the Treasury and the European Commission have been blatantly ignored and broken," the report stated. "This project ought to have been a model of good practice. It is clearly not."
Commenting on the escalating costs of the project, which finally ended up costing £430m compared with original estimates of £40m, the report argued: "We have identified inconsistencies and irregularities in the procurement process for the construction manager and quantity surveyor. It is our belief that all of these items had an adverse effect on the costs of the project. It is not too late to take action to correct mistakes."
Despite the findings, it took three years before the report, commissioned by the parliament's auditor general Robert Black, came to light as part of an inquiry into what went wrong with the project in 2003.
McAlpine is proceeding with a £4.3m writ against the parliament (1% of the final cost of the building), claiming Bovis was unfairly awarded the contract. It is believed to have already obtained a copy of the report to add to its defence.
The contractor, which is claiming the fees it would have made if it had been awarded the contract, is due to submit its case to the parliament in the next two weeks before a hearing on 23 March.
However, sources believe McAlpine's challenge could be scuppered, as under European procurement laws it only has three months following a contract award to make a challenge under the existing remedies directive.
MacDonald, who described the release of the report as a "bitter blow" to the Scottish Executive and parliamentary authorities, is now requesting copes of all correspondence between the auditor general and G&T regarding the project.