Tram chief who got £40k bonus allowed to testify in secret (...because of stress)
THE man at the helm of the Edinburgh tram project has been allowed to give evidence to the inquiry into the fiasco in secret.
Willie Gallagher was chairman of the council-owned firm running its construction between 2006 and 2008.
He earned a reported £170,000 a year and was at the centre of a scandal in 2009 when it was revealed he had been paid a £41,000 bonus by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE).
During the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, it has been claimed Mr Gallagher was on the committee that awarded bonuses.
Other senior officials have been forced to appear to answer questions about their roles in the £1billion project – which arrived hugely over budget and three years late in 2014.
But on Tuesday, inquiry chairman Lord Hardie announced he had taken Mr Gallagher’s evidence outside Edinburgh in private because of ‘medical certificates given by two doctors’.
Members of the public and media were given no notice that Mr Gallagher’s anticipated appearance was to be heard in private. A published transcript reveals that, as part of the deal, Mr Gallagher was only questioned by inquiry senior counsel Jonathan Lake. He was not subject to cross-examination by lawyers representing other parties involved in the project – as previous witnesses had been.
Mr Gallagher said he was ‘keen’ to give evidence, adding: ‘I, perversely enough, enjoyed working on TIE.’
But he explained: ‘I have had a series of health issues over the last ten years and I try to manage my conditions as best I can.
‘Unfortunately, one of the issues to do with anxiety and stress then has a kick-on which can end up causing me quite serious side-effects.’
Mr Gallagher was quizzed over the bonus he was said effectively to have awarded himself – but claimed he could not remember if he sat on the remuneration committee.
He said: ‘I can’t recall whether I did or I didn’t because best practice would be that the chairman would not be a member.’
Mr Lake asked: ‘That’s my question because the evidence is that you did sit on the remuneration committee, despite the fact you were a chairman and an executive director, which would be unusual. Was any consideration given to whether that created a problem?’
Mr Gallagher said: ‘I certainly did not sit on any matters concerning myself. And I am not sure that I did sit when bonuses were discussed.
‘If I was a member of the committee, I think I would have excused myself and left because it wouldn’t have been appropriate.’
He was also forced to deny allegations he knew the price of the tram contract would rise. It was put to him that he admitted to construction contractor Bilfinger Berger: ‘This is not the real price, everyone knows it’s going to go up.’
Mr Gallagher denied the claims, saying: ‘I didn’t believe that at all. We were hoping to achieve the price that was in the contract.’
He also said Bilfinger Berger had been appointed too hastily, resulting in an inflated cost. He added: ‘I would have liked there to have been more competition. I think it would have helped us to have secured better progress on a final price.’
A spokesman for the inquiry said: ‘Due to health issues, Mr Gallagher appeared at a private session with restricted attendance earlier this month, at a mutually agreed venue outwith Edinburgh. Core participants were informed in advance to allow time to prepare and submit questions for this witness.’
He refused to comment on why the public and media were not told of the decision until afterwards.
The inquiry continues.