McConnell's Holyrood woe

The Holyrood project will cost more than £300m

First Minister Jack McConnell has described the spiralling costs and delays of the Holyrood building project as the "single biggest disappointment in devolution".

He said controversy surrounding the project had caused "widespread disillusionment" across Scotland.

The first minister was speaking as Scottish Parliament officials formally abandoned plans to move into the new parliament building next summer.

They commissioned two reports into the timetable for completion and what the knock-on effects are for the move to the new site.

The project has been dogged by delays and controversy since the outset.

Officials do not know when it will be ready or what the final cost will be, though the latest estimate is more than £300m.

Jack McConnell said public confidence had eroded

The project, which initially had a price tag of £40m, had been due for completion by April next year, with MSPs moving in by the following September.

This would allow plenty of time to test equipment before MSPs returned in the autumn.

But Bovis Lend Lease, the firm in charge of the project, extended the deadline due to the specialist glazing work needed on the roof of the debating chamber.

Increased bomb-proofing measures introduced in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the United States last year, are being blamed for the cost of the project breaking through the £300m barrier.

Public money

A civil servant has been given the job of organising the opening ceremony and a budget of £400,000 has been set aside.

The decision to appoint a member of staff at the parliament to organise the opening ceremony was taken by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body (SPCB) at the end of June.

The first minister said the project's problems were a major disappointment.

Mr McConnell said he did not believe the costs should have risen the way they had.

He said: "I think the rising cost of the Scottish Parliament building has probably been the single biggest disappointment in devolution.

"It is one of the key factors that have affected people's confidence in the new parliament and in devolution as a whole."

He added: "My job as first minister is first of all to make sure that other major building projects in the public sector never go this way."

Work on the project has been delayed

Sir David Steel, the parliament's presiding officer, described the latest update from Bovis Lend Lease as "unwelcome".

He said those involved in the project had "experienced great frustration".

Sir David said: "It remains the corporate body's responsibility to ensure that a permanent building fit to serve future generations as Scotland's new parliament is delivered at Holyrood at the best cost and programme.

"The project is at all times being carefully controlled and managed."

But Scots Tory leader David McLetchie said: "Holyrood, whenever it is finished, is a monumental waste of public money. Its opening is not an occasion to celebrate by wasting even more."