T in the Park given cash as ‘its future was in doubt’

BOSSES at a hugely profitable concert firm told the Scottish Government that T in the Park’s future was in doubt without a taxpayer-funded handout, it emerged last night.

Documents submitted to MSPs ahead of a crunch meeting reveal how DF Concerts told Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop there was a ‘threat’ because of the costs involved in moving to a new site.

Miss Hyslop ordered officials to investigate how the Government could support the company after the meeting in May, and later agreed to give a £150,000 grant.

But DF Concerts has consistently recorded pre-tax profits of more than £4.5million. The cash was not formally handed over until after the T in the Park festival in July.

The grant was made to aid the festival’s move from its former home of Balado, Kinross-shire, to Strathallan in Perthshire.

Miss Hyslop will appear before Holyrood’s culture committee next week. Tory culture spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘The public deserve honesty and transparency on this issue from the SNP.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘T in the Park is one of Scotland’s most popular and successful cultural events, generating £15.4million for the economy last year.’

A spokesman for T in the Park recently said: ‘The awards process has been as transparent as it is for any other event. However our application this year is due to exceptional circumstances.’