Tories fail in move to force release of Holyrood tapes

THERE was stalemate last night in the ongoing battle between BBC Scotland and the Fraser Inquiry over access to interviews with key players in the Holyrood project.

Attempts by the Tories to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to force the corporation to hand over recordings of the former first minister Donald Dewar and the Holyrood architect Enric Miralles were defeated yesterday.

Instead, the parliament backed a Liberal Democrat motion supporting the BBC against "political interference" and urging both sides in the row to reach a deal to allow "appropriate access" to the tapes.

During a debate on the issue, David McLetchie, the leader of the Scottish Tories, urged MSPs to back a motion calling for BBC Scotland to hand over the transcripts to the parliament.

Lord Fraser had "clearly looked" to MSPs to assist him in gaining the tapes, Mr McLetchie said, as John Campbell QC, the counsel to the inquiry, looked on from the gallery.

Section 23 of the Scotland Act gave parliament, not ministers, limited power to order evidence if it was to aid the investigation of matters of public interest within the responsibility of the Executive, he argued.

"No-one would dispute that discovering the truth about Holyrood is a matter of profound public interest and importance," he added. "Our motion does not grant wide discretionary powers, it is not arbitrary, it is not oppressive, it is not capricious.

"It does not undermine the independence of the BBC - it simply requires the early release of information which it intends to broadcast anyway."

Fergus Ewing, the SNP spokesman on public services, said he believed that the BBC’s position was fundamentally wrong, but he rejected the Tories’ move.

"The BBC is on shaky ground, its position is untenable and unjustified," said Mr Ewing, who also accused the corporation of giving a misleading impression over its guarantees to interviewees.

But he added: "It is a fundamental principle of democracy that parliaments do not act as pinstripe bovver boys, pushing around independent media and broadcasting corporations, even where we all think they’re wrong."

However, the Lib Dems accused the Tories of a political stunt, and, while there were no ministers present at the debate, the Labour back-bencher Ken Macintosh, a former BBC producer, also condemned the Conservatives.

"The Tories have long since been anti-BBC and anti-Scottish Parliament and it strikes me they have grasped this opportunity with relish rather than reluctance," he said. "Let us urge those involved to seek a constructive solution so we can retain our confidence in the Fraser Inquiry and our trust in the BBC."