Forth Road Bridge closure: Committee to consider inquiry options
- Published
The bridge is expected to be closed to all traffic for at least three weeks
A Holyrood committee is to examine options for a "focused inquiry" into the issues leading to the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.
The infrastructure and capital investment committee will deliberate on ordering an inquiry next Wednesday.
It comes after the transport minister said bridge bosses considered replacing a cracked part of the crossing five years ago but decided not to.
Scottish Labour and the Conservatives have both called for a full inquiry.
The bridge is to be closed until the new year for repairs after a large crack was discovered in a truss under the carriageway.
Opposition parties raised questions about the maintenance of the structure and the events leading up to its closure.
What's Derek Mackay been saying?
The transport minister has been accused of misleading parliament over the maintenance programme for the Forth Road Bridge. Find out what he has been saying to Holyrood and the media.
A spokesman said members of the infrastructure and capital investment committee would "examine options for conducting a focussed inquiry into the issues that have led to the closure of the Forth Road Bridge".
Transport minister Derek Mackay has said he would be "more than happy" to co-operate with an inquiry if one was called.
Mr Mackay admitted in a BBC Good Morning Scotland interview that bridge bosses had considered replacing the part of the crossing which has now cracked in 2010.
'Misled parliament'
Mr Mackay has been accused of misleading MSPs, after it emerged the comments apparently contradicted a statement he made at Holyrood.
Conservative transport spokesman Alex Johnstone asked Mr Mackay if he was aware of a public contract tendering notice for work on the bridge lodged in 2010, but later cancelled.
He was told: "The works that the member has identified are not where the fault has occurred."
However in his interview with BBC Scotland, Mr Mackay said the 2010 work would have involved "the replacement of that area and much more".
The diagram shows the location of the defective steel component
Labour's James Kelly raised a point of order in the chamber, asking the transport secretary to come back and set the record straight.
He said: "Clearly these statements are contradictory and this is a serious matter. It would appear that Mr Mackay has misled parliament."
Deputy presiding officer John Scott said the statement was a matter for Mr Mackay and not a point of order, but told Mr Kelly: "Nonetheless, you have made your point."
Mr Mackay later returned to the chamber to address the issue, underlining that the fault currently being worked on had not been there in 2010.
He said the works proposed at that time had covered "a far greater area", adding: "A decision was taken by the Forth Estuary Transport Authority that it was not necessary to replace the entire area, which would have involved a lengthy and unnecessary closure of the bridge."
He said: "My priority is to get this bridge fixed and to get people moving across the Forth Bridge again."
The presiding officer told Mr Kelly that he "should be very careful before suggesting that a minister has misled parliament".