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| Edinburgh city council to spend up to £2m on tram inquiry | Edinburgh city council to spend up to £2m on tram inquiry |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Edinburgh City Council is to spend up to £2m participating in the public inquiry into the capital's tram fiasco. | |
| Some of it will be spent meeting legal costs of former councillors and staff who were in charge when the project was hit by delays and cost increases. | Some of it will be spent meeting legal costs of former councillors and staff who were in charge when the project was hit by delays and cost increases. |
| The council has refused a request from inquiry chairman Lord Hardie to revive its arm's length transport firm Tie. | |
| It said that would have increased its costs to £4m. | |
| 'Justifiable expense' | |
| Andrew Burns, the council's leader, said: "The council continues to support the inquiry, as it has done so throughout, and to be fully open and accountable. | |
| "By applying to be a core participant we have committed to playing our part in the proceedings and co-operating fully with the inquiry. | |
| "However, we do not believe the considerable cost of reviving for the sake of the inquiry is a justifiable expense, one which would ultimately be borne by the Edinburgh taxpayer. | |
| "The council is the ultimate parent body of Tie, and we have communicated our willingness to provide information about its role to the inquiry." | |
| The trams began operating on 31 May last year after six years of disruption and cost increases. | |
| Alex Salmond, who was first minister at the time, announced there would be an inquiry into the project in June 2014, and it has since been awarded statutory powers to compel witnesses to participate. | |
| A preliminary hearing will be held on Wednesday. | |
| A spokesman for the inquiry said there would be no comment on the council's decision ahead of the hearing. |