Edinburgh Trams boss quit over ‘outrageous’ spying by bus firm
councillors. Norris was the director and general manager of Edinburgh Trams who was credited with turning around the troubled £1bn project. He quit in the summer of last year and his departure to train operator Abellio was considered to be a huge loss to the firm.
In a blistering letter to Lothian Buses and the council in June 2015, which had been kept under wraps, he cited the “covert monitoring of IT equipment” as the key reason for his resignation.
During the period of surveillance in 2014, a civil war was taking place between the then chief executive of Lothian Buses, Ian Craig, and other senior figures at LB Craig eventually left the company. Although Edinburgh Trams staff were victims of the surveillance, Norris wrote that allies of Craig at Lothian Buses were monitored during the period of internal tension: “Key senior staff who could be perceived as being close to the chief executive were the majority of the people targeted.” He added: “As a result, I think the motives of the individual [who carried out the spying] are dishonest and the report conclusions around this are incomplete.”
On the outcome of the disciplinary probe, Norris was scathing: “Given the serious reputational, legal and trust issues around this case I find it extraordinary the employee’s contract was not terminated for such a serious offence.”
He continued: “I believe there has been gross mishandling of this case post the investigation, and I have significant questions about the business ethics Lothian Buses have adopted regarding this matter.
“In the six months since the case was first reported, no meaningful action has