McConnell refuses to be swayed on bridge battle

Mr McConnell made his comments despite strong calls from Chancellor Gordon Brown and Transport Secretary Alistair Darling for a second bridge.

Mr McConnell said it was the responsibility of the Scottish Executive to decide on the future of crossings over the Forth and it wanted to see the full facts before making a decision.

Yesterday both Mr Brown and Mr Darling indicated their backing for a second crossing while campaigning in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election.

But today Mr McConnell said: "We need to make a decision on the condition of the bridge and the future of crossings over the Forth. We will do that only after we have the full analysis we have commissioned. We expect to get that analysis at the end of the month and we will use that to inform our decision which we hope to make very quickly thereafter."

Challenged on the proposed 4 increase in bridge tolls he said no formal decision had been made, but indicated he did not believe such a steep rise from the current 1 charge could be justified. He said: "I believe the economic argument against a 4 toll is strong, but we will not make a decision in advance of the due process we have to follow through."

He said a final decision on any toll increase would have to wait until the bigger decision on the future of the crossings had been taken. He said: "These are big decisions, they require proper analysis and it is the responsibility of the devolved Scottish government to do that."

But the AA said motorists would welcome the support for a new bridge from Mr Darling and Mr Brown. Neil Greig, the AA's head of policy in Scotland, said: "We believe there is a well-proven case for a new bridge, not just because the current one is having corrosion problems, but because of the need for extra capacity across the Forth. If we do nothing, the bridge could be closed entirely, which would be a disaster."

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) warned about the decreasing lifespan of the road bridge almost a year ago. The recent findings of an inspection programme revealed the state of corrosion in the crossing's main cables, which could force to bridge to shut to vehicles by 2019.

A new crossing will take at least 11 years to build, and cost around 600 million, meaning time is running out before a decision has to be made. But the Executive has ordered an independent audit of FETA's findings, which has not yet been concluded. The report isn't expected to be made public until February or March.

On the by-election campaign trail yesterday, Mr Darling said proposals to increase tolls on the bridge to as much as 4 were effectively dead.

Mr Darling said: "Everybody has made it very clear there is no case for the 4 toll on this bridge. It just won't happen.

"The key thing now is to campaign for a second bridge because of the fact that the existing bridge is not going to last as long as people thought." And Mr Brown said: "The question now is how we can build a new bridge."

The surprise intervention was today welcomed by the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Spokesman Graham Bell said: "We are delighted if Alistair Darling is backing our position that action is needed now. I hope we can expect some progress from the Executive very soon."

Lothians SNP MSP Kenny MacAskill said the Labour Party is in "disarray" over the issue of the Forth Road Bridge.

A spokeswoman said the Executive's position had not changed and no decision on a new bridge would be taken until ministers had studied a full report on the condition of the current crossing.

Friends of the Earth Scotland's chief executive, Duncan McLaren, said: "Given Alistair Darling's position as Secretary of State for Transport these latest comments are extremely disappointing."