PPP IS ‘LOOTING’ SAYS TORY LONDON MAYOR

PPP IS ‘LOOTING’ SAYS TORY LONDON MAYOR

Following comments by the former Scottish Secretary, Ian Lang when he said that the position of Secretary of State for Scotland ‘no longer has any’ the latest embarrassing gaffe for the Tories in Scotland has been comments made by their London Mayor where he describes one of their favoured system of capital financing as ‘looting’

Quoted in the Times newspaper Boris Johnson said of the PPP contracts to pay for London Underground lines: “In other countries this would be called looting; here it is called the PPP”.

Commenting on Boris Johnson’s remarks SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee - said:

“The comments made by Tories in London look like they are becoming seriously embarrassing for the Tories in Scotland.

“It doesn’t say much for their support for PFI and PPP if one of their prominent elected figures is trashing it as looting.

“We already know that the legacy of Labour’s use alone of the Private Finance Initiative is estimated to cost the Scottish Government a total of £27.7 billion from 2010-11.

“These comments by Mayor Johnson and the refusal by both the Labour party and the Tories in Scotland to recognise the problems of PFI/PPP and the better deal for taxpayers being delivered by the SNP in Government now leaves them both in a ludicrous position.”