Comment: Tram email discovery could change the whole story

Edinburgh Tram at its current final destination of York Place

Failure to uncover significant new facts that shed fresh light on the debacle would see it branded a colossal waste of time and money. There would be all hell to pay.

The discovery of the e-mail that we report on today is the first sign that it is making significant progress. Some have seized on it as a “smoking gun” that proves the politicians who were hammered for their role – many were unceremoniously dumped by the electorate in the wake of the scandal – were put in an impossible position. While it doesn’t necessarily mean they were blameless, if the councillors who were supposed to be in charge were not told what was going on, how could they make good decisions?

The e-mail has the potential to change the whole narrative behind the disastrous construction project. The man who sent the e-mail is, however, expected to strongly deny there was any cover up, insisting he meant “restricting” which politicians received information, rather than what they were told. Ultimately, Lord Hardie will judge.