Tories refuse to hold public inquiry into Guided Bus (Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@cambslibdems.org.uk>

Tories refuse to hold public inquiry into Guided Bus

May 19, 2010 2:02 PM

Nichola Harrison

Cambridgeshire Tories have refused point blank to hold a public inquiry into the Guided Bus fiasco, denying residents the chance to have their say.

The decision was taken yesterday (Tuesday) by county council leader Jill Tuck after she was asked to call an inquiry into the dispute between the council and contractors BAM Nuttall which has delayed the launch of the project.

Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, Nichola Harrison asked the question during a full council meeting, claiming that the dispute had put taxpayers at risk of losing tens of millions of pounds in a protracted legal dispute.

But Cllr Tuck firmly refused to agree to an inquiry and ducked a supplementary question which asked whether she would allow the council to enter into a similar contract in the future.

"She had no compunction in flatly refusing a public inquiry," said Cllr Harrison. "The Tories have handled this whole situation badly from the outset and left taxpayers vulnerable to picking up the massive bill.

"Residents should be given the chance to ask questions of this administration and we should be given the chance to get to the bottom of what went wrong. Without scrutinising this whole affair openly and transparently we cannot ensure that it never happens again."

Kilian Bourke, Highways Spokesperson said: "We have been fed excuse after excuse as to why this project has been severely delayed; only a public inquiry would get to the root of the whole affair.

"Residents have a right to have their say. But this decision is nothing short of what we have come to expect from this administration. There are clearly fundamental problems with the contract and the management of this whole project and the sooner the Tories come clean, the sooner we can find a way to complete the Guided Bus scheme."