Alex Salmond promised 'swift' Edinburgh tram inquiry without any knowledge of what would be involved

Lord Hardie told a Holyrood committee the former first minister’s pledge "merely raised expectations" among the public and said he had not been asked to comment on the matter.

MSPs are scrutinising the cost effectiveness of public inquiries in Scotland amid concerns they are swallowing up "significant sums of money".

Holyrood's finance and public administration committee will examine whether public inquiries represent value for money, as well as the extent to which spending controls may be necessary.

Between 1990 and 2024, the UK and devolved governments spent at least £1.5 billion on completed public inquiries, according to the Institute for Government.

The Edinburgh tram inquiry cost more than £13 million and took nine years to publish its findings, despite Mr Salmond saying it would be “swift and thorough”.

In written evidence to the committee, Lord Hardie said: “The-then first minister announced that the ETI [Edinburgh tram inquiry] would be a non-statutory inquiry, that I would chair it, that the terms of reference had been agreed and that he looked forward to a ‘swift and thorough inquiry’.

“The statement of the-then first minister merely raised expectations of the public about the early conclusion of the inquiry without the public realising that the statement had been made without any knowledge of what would be involved in undertaking an independent, transparent and thorough inquiry into the scandal of the Edinburgh tram project, which was a matter of significant public interest.

“I was not asked to comment on the possibility of concluding a swift and thorough investigation that would satisfy the agreed terms of reference.”

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He said the the creation of a non-statutory inquiry, as opposed to a statutory one, “prevented me from accessing material held by the City of Edinburgh Council and resulted in the refusal of key witnesses to co-operate with the inquiry”.

Lord Hardie said there had been been no discussion about timescale or any agreed budget prior to his appointment.

Elsewhere, he called for the “net cost” of public inquiries to be disclosed, as well as the final gross figure. This would deduct the cost of resources already funded by the public purse, such as civil servant salaries.

“This recommendation would result in the public disclosure of both the total [Edinburgh tram inquiry] cost of £13.1m and the discounted cost of £8.7m,” he said.

“Such an approach would enable comparisons to be made with other inquiries who had chosen not to use available assets already funded by the public purse and would assist any assessment of value for money.”

Lord Hardie will give evidence in person before the committee on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the latest figures received by the committee show the cost of the Shaku Bayoh inquiry has risen by £1m over the past three months, to £24.8m. Mr Bayoh died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015.