You liars: MP accuses Edinburgh leaders over Gathering

Labour's Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty used his position of parliamentary privilege to accuse Lib Dem councillor Jenny Dawe and SNP councillor Steve Cardownie of lying to Holyrood's public audit committee.

The intervention has added even greater pressure on the two, particularly council leader Ms Dawe, to resign over their handling of the bail-out of the Gathering event last year.

The two last week narrowly survived a no-confidence vote at the council, after they refused to accept responsibility for the collapse of a rescue deal for the Gathering.

MSPs on Holyrood's public audit committee had earlier branded oral evidence provided by the pair as "not credible".

Speaking during business questions in the Commons, Mr Docherty said: "The leader and deputy leader of Edinburgh city council have been caught lying to the Scottish Parliament's audit committee on the issue of the Gathering."

Parliamentary privilege protects politicians from prosecution over comments they make in the House of Lords and House of Commons during proceedings.

Tory leader of the House Sir George Young said that Mr Docherty should look to next week's Scotland Bill debate to bring up the subject.

The intervention comes amid continuing concerns over the council's handling of the bail-out of the failed Gathering.

The parent company of the event, which was one of the most high-profile parts of the Homecoming Year in 2010, collapsed with debts of 516,000, much of which was owed to businesses in Edinburgh. This was despite receiving a secret 180,000 loan from the Scottish Government.

Although senior councillors and officials agreed a deal in principle to allow a new council company, the Destination Edin-burgh Marketing Alliance, to take over the event, the rescue package collapsed months later when the local authority pulled the plug on its involvement.

Ms Dawe and Mr Cardownie later told the audit committee that a news release announcing the takeover had been sent out by a council press officer without them approving it.

But the committee heard that the news release had been e-mailed by council press officer Stewart Argo to the authority's leaders the day before it was sent out to the media.

Mr Docherty said that it was coverage in yesterday's Scotsman after Ms Dawe and Mr Cardownie publicly fell out over the issue, which led him to use the legal protection of parliamentary privilege to raise the issue.

"Clearly, their story is beginning to unravel and they have both been heavily criticised in parliamentary language by the Holyrood committee," he said.

"After reading The Scotsman's coverage I decided that a stand had to be taken and because MSPs unfairly do not have the same legal protection as we do in Westminster, I thought that I should do it on their behalf.

"It is quite disgraceful what has happened and you have to remember it is not just an Edinburgh issue, but one that has affected taxpayers across Scotland."

Edinburgh city council's chief executive, Sue Bruce, said "The council is currently considering all of the recommendations in the report and the commentary surrounding the report. "Of significant concern is the suggestion that witnesses of the council were anything other than open or honest, particularly given that both the officers and elected members involved are used to being scrutinised in committees and in public and are fully conversant with the high standards of behaviour, integrity and probity expected of them."

Mr Cardownie said: "I don't know who Thomas Docherty is, just a nondescript politician. If he is man enough, though, he will repeat his accusations outside the Commons and face the consequences. If he is spineless he will just continue to use the protection afforded him by speaking in the Commons, knowing that there can be no fair redress."

Ms Dawe could not be contacted for comment.