SCOTTISH Parliament bosses have been accused of snubbing key figures behind the Holyrood building by failing to include them in the tenth anniversary event.
The Queen addressed a special gathering in the parliament's debating chamber on Wednesday, exactly ten years after the official opening in its temporary home at the Assembly Hall on The Mound, but neither Brian Stewart, right, who led the Edinburgh h
alf of the design partnership with Barcelona-based Enric Miralles, nor any of the other professionals involved in the new building was invited to attend.
Now SNP MSP Linda Fabiani, who helped supervise the Holyrood project, is to urge the parliamentary authorities to make sure the snub is not repeated.
The row comes after MSPs themselves were accused of snubbing the Queen when 48 of them failed to attend Wednesday's event.
Apart from the Queen's visit, the main feature of Wednesday's celebrations was a giant birthday party for 142 children who were born on 1 July, the parliament's opening day, but the youngsters were not in the chamber for the Queen's address. The parliament said the 200-plus seats in the public gallery were taken up by MSPs' relatives and guests.
The snub to Mr Stewart and his colleagues was highlighted by Stuart Greig, director of a film about the £414 million building project, when he took part in a debate following a special screening earlier this week.
He said it was a "disgrace" they had not been invited. "Without Brian there would not be a building," he said.
Ms Fabiani, who was also taking part in the debate, agreed the lack of an invitation seemed "very petty" and she promised to write to Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson.
Today she said the celebrations were not for the tenth anniversary of the building – which only opened in 2004 – but nevertheless she would raise the issue.
She said: "Regardless of anything else, we do have a fabulous building, but representatives of those who built the building were not invited. Maybe it's something we could take on board in the future."
Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald, a long-standing critic of the Holyrood building, also said Mr Stewart should have been invited. She said: "There should be some recognition of his role in the parliament building because when Enric Miralles died he took over as lead designer. It does seem a strange omission."
A parliament spokesman said there was no emphasis on VIP guests for Wednesday's ceremony, adding: "The focus of the day was on ten years of devolution and the children who shared their birthday with the parliament.
"The public gallery seating was for MSPs' relatives and guests."
The full article contains 446 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
