Edinburgh trams boss received 'excessive' £327,000 pay-off - council chiefs call for immediate investigation
‘I am deeply concerned and disappointed by the scale of this compensation package’ - Cllr Jane Meagher
Edinburgh’s former trams boss Lea Harrison received a pay-off of more than £327,000 when he left the job earlier this year.
And unaudited accounts show that, when his salary is added in, he received total remuneration of over £520,000 in 2025/26.
Now council leader Jane Meagher is calling for an immediate investigation into whether proper procedures were followed in awarding Mr Harrison the huge sum, which she labelled “excessive”.
Mr Harrison stood down as managing director of Edinburgh Trams at the end of January 2026 after the city’s tram and bus operations were brought together and Lothian Buses boss Sarah Boyd was appointed to oversee both companies.
The accounts for 2025/26, which will be presented to a full council meeting on Thursday, show that Mr Harrison received a salary of £187,283, plus “other benefits” of £5,583 and his pay-off of £327,713, bringing his total remuneration to £520,579.
Edinburgh’s minority Labour administration has tabled an addendum to the accounts voicing “grave concern” at the level of Mr Harrison’s compensation and calling for an “immediate investigation” into whether all relevant policies and procedures were followed.
Councillor Meagher said: “While this was a decision taken by the former board of Edinburgh Trams, I am deeply concerned and disappointed by the scale of this compensation package.
“We rightly expect our council companies to deliver value for money, and I cannot see any justification for someone already on such a high salary receiving this type of pay-off for leaving their job.”
She said the council had written to the chair of the new board, asking it to investigate whether proper procedures and board approval processes were followed in agreeing the package.
And she added: “We now have a new relationship with the tram company – a new chair and a new board – and have strengthened our oversight and reporting arrangements to make sure this can never happen again.”
Mr Harrison was managing director at Edinburgh Trams for 10 years. After leaving on January 31, he started a new job as managing director of Blackpool Transport Services on March 1.
It’s not new for Mr Harrison - who started out as one of the first tram drivers on Manchester’s Metrolink system - to be at the centre of a remuneration row.
He was regularly listed among the top paid council-sector employees in Scotland. And in 2022, union leaders protested it was “appalling” that he received a 16 per cent pay rise plus a bonus of £16,000 at a time when some tram drivers were having to use food banks because of their poor pay.
The addendum tabled for the full council meeting says: “Council notes with grave concern the sum paid to the former Managing Director of Edinburgh Trams Ltd as compensation for loss of office and considers this amount to be excessive.
“Council also notes that this decision was taken by the previous Board of Edinburgh Trams Ltd and further notes that the new Board have displayed willingness to investigate this matter.
“Council agrees an immediate investigation into this matter is required to determine whether all relevant policies and procedures were followed in the awarding of this sum, notes that officers have already sought assurance from the Chair of Edinburgh Trams and instructs an update to Members on the findings and recommendations through the most appropriate channel.”
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