Doomed computer a ‘waste of man hours’

TAXPAYERS were not fully compensated for all the man hours ploughed into Police Scotland’s doomed supercomputer project, it was revealed yesterday.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said there had been ‘no financial detriment’ to the public purse from the demise of the i6 project.

But under questioning by MSPs on Holyrood’s justice subcommittee on policing, Mr Matheson suggested that there had not been full compensation for man hours.

Accenture, the company behind the project, agreed a settlement with the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to pay back all monies handed over.

Mr Matheson said that settlement only recognised ‘some of’ the additional costs – for example, the man hours ploughed into the deal.

But a source close to the deal said: ‘There was a payment made in respect of lost man hours but it wouldn’t cover every penny – and obviously it’s hard to figure out exactly how many man hours went into it over the years.’

Some £17million had been given to Accenture, which the SPA says was recouped.

An SPA spokesman said: ‘The terms of the agreement are commercially confidential. However, we can confirm that the settlement results in no financial detriment to the police budget.’