Tram Inquiry becomes a ‘Klondike’ for the legal profession - Steve Cardownie

I have refrained from commenting on the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report, preferring to leave it to others to express their views on the matter.

Edinburgh Tram Inquiry chairman Lord Hardie. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

​As the Inquiry eventually got underway, I referred to it as a “Klondike” for legal professionals and so it turned out.

Lord Hardie must have thought that all his Christmases had come at once when he was appointed to chair the proceedings and I don’t expect that he will be worrying about the price of turkey in a few weeks’ time.

One matter that has caught my attention in this whole debacle is the role played by council official Nick Smith, who is now the council’s head of legal services.

He was identified as an official who was responsible for inserting false statements into two reports in 2010 about the adjudication of disputes between contractors and the council’s tram firm, TIE, with Lord Hardie going so far as to say, “Mr Smith was aware that the statements were untrue.”

I for one, do not believe for a minute that he did so of his own accord. There were far more senior officers who had skin in the game, and I believe that influence would have been exerted by them to ensure that they achieved the desired outcome.

Nick Smith, forgive me for saying, was likely to succumb to such pressure but now that it has been “concluded that no further action was required” it will be conveniently swept under the carpet.

For who knows what Mr Smith might have divulged had he been hung out to dry by the council. Conveniently for some, we will never now know.