Brown says sorry (at last) for doomed Chinese deal
THE SNP Economy Secretary yesterday finally apologised for signing a £10billion agreement with a Chinese consortium accused of serious human rights abuses.
Keith Brown said that he took ‘full responsibility’ for the deal, which was branded a ‘Scottish shambles’, and has subsequently collapsed.
He also gave a humiliating apology for failing to carry out appropriate checks before Nicola Sturgeon signed a ‘memorandum of understanding’ (MoU) with SinoFortone and the China Railway No 3 Engineering Group (CR3) last March.
The agreement, for investment of up to £10billion, was signed by the First Minister during a meeting at Bute House, her official residence.
The Scottish Government failed to announce the deal and it only became public knowledge after being reported in China.
Serious concerns were subsequently raised about CR3’s human rights record, and it also emerged that the group had been accused of ‘gross corruption’ in China.
During a debate called by the Liberal Democrats at Holyrood yesterday, Mr Brown said: ‘I take full responsibility for the handling of this MoU and I am sorry for the issues that have arisen from it.
‘I can assure parliament that we have and will learn lessons from the experience. We will consider human rights issues in our engagement with overseas businesses and we will only sign investment agreements where appropriate due diligence, including on human rights records of companies involved, has been undertaken.’
His apology comes despite Miss Sturgeon criticising the ‘hysterical, over-the-top reaction’ by opposition leaders to the original agreement.
After details of the deal first emerged, it was revealed that CR3’s parent firm has been singled out by Amnesty International for alleged human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo and faced allegations of ‘gross corruption’ by the Norwegian Oil Fund.
Mr Brown said yesterday that the information on human rights concerns ‘should have been known’ before the MoU was signed.
He added: ‘Given the concerns that have been raised I would want to assure parliament that no financial commitment was made at any point on behalf of the Scottish Government and that none has been made since the signing of the MoU.
‘Similarly, there have been no legal or contractual agreements with either of the companies named in the MoU and finally we have had no engagement with either company since September 2016.’
The MoU only became public knowledge when a press release appeared on the SinoFortone website containing quotes from the First Minister and SNP donor Brian Souter. It was secretly cancelled in August after months of heavy criticism of SNP ministers.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘Without any checks, the deal was signed by our First Minister. The Scottish shambles was born and Keith Brown was the midwife.
‘Today’s debate is to discover why our First Minister’s signature is so cheap and how the Government and its Economy Secretary were so easily duped.
‘We seek an apology and to censure the Economy Secretary for the handling of this shambles.’ He also claimed that the consortium had tried to boost its credibility by claiming to be preparing a series of investments, including a £700million takeover of Liverpool FC.
He added: ‘But here’s the sting in the tail – all of it has come to nothing. Zilch. It was all media puff to create an impression of financial strength and credibility. The reputation of Scotland on human rights has been tarnished by of this shambles.
‘The prospect of investment from sound Chinese and other sources has been diminished.’
‘Signed without any checks’