An independent investigation is needed into the V&A’s rocketing budget to stop those involved finding “a carpet to sweep it all under”, according to Jim Murphy.
The Scottish Labour leader brought his shadow cabinet to Dundee on Monday as it emerged the Scottish Government had pledged an extra £10 million towardsbuilding the museum.
Project bossesadmitted last weekthat work is running £31 million over budget and 18 months late.
Dundee City Council has launched an inquiry into what went wrong but Mr Murphy echoedcalls from Lib Dem councillor Fraser Macpherson for Audit Scotland to lead the probe.He said: “An internal inquiry, by one of the organisations who were party to themistake in the first place, isn’t good enough.“You might as well find a carpet to sweep it all under. People in Dundee have got to know who made this massive mistake. Where did the buck stop?
“The V&A is complete mismanagement and incompetence, so it can’t be an internal inquiry. It has to be an inquiry by anexternal organisation with teeth which has the power to get to the bottom of it.
“The V&A is going to be brilliant for Dundee but right now this project is unwanted drama and it has got off to aterrible, terrible start.”
Labour’s culture spokeswoman, Claire Baker, met Philip Long, director of the V&A Dundee, to discuss theproblems.
Dundee City Council says it is the“intention of the council’s chief executive to carry out a full review of the background to this situation so that lessons may belearned for future projects”.
A report will then be presented to the local authority’s policy and resourcescommittee.
Mr Murphy also revealed he plans to raise taxes to funnel into local education budgets, as he said just 220 Scottishchildren from deprived areas get good enough grades to go to “the bestuniversities”.
He said: “Anyone who earns over £150,000, we will put your taxes up to 50p and we will use some of that money to pay for improving Dundee secondary schools.
“We will double the number ofclassroom assistants in the primary schools which feed into those secondary schools.We will reintroduce a thing calledchartered teachers. These are specialist teachers who are great at getting kids who have fallen behind to catch up.”
Mr Murphy told The Courier talks had taken place with figures in the oil and gas industry, who are “up for” bringing decommissioning work to Dundee if the right infrastructure is in place.
Responding to Labour’s so-called five point plan, Dundee East MSP ShonaRobison said: “Everyone knows that Dundee is a city on the move.
“The truth is that the city only began to move forward after Labour were removed from power in Dundee, as they held the city back and many of the same people are still in charge of Labour locally showing they have not changed.”
Mr Murphy also brushed off an encounter with protesters at the Ardler Complex following the meeting with his leading MSPs.
The group accused him of running from them and branded him a ‘quisling’ as he was driven away from the venue.