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Weber Shandwick Burt Greener PR

Edinburgh Tram project spends £900,000 on PR services

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

July 12, 2011 | 2 min read

Almost £1m has been paid to PR firms by the crisis-riddled Edinburgh tram project since 2008 according to figures obtained by the Edinburgh Evening News.

The figures show that PRs have been amongst the highest paid consultants employed by tram company TIE, with large sums paid to Mandy Haeburn-Little, TIE's now departed PR chief, “who earned more than £90,000 in consultancy fees before being handed an in-house six-figure package” according to the Edinburgh Evening News.

The figures, released under Freedom of Information laws, show that five PR firms, including Haeburn-Little's own firm, shared almost £1m in the past three years, with £180,000 of fees paid to Edinburgh-based Burt Greener Communications, £260,000 paid to Weber Shandwick, £380,000 to Jack Irvine’s crisis management specialists Media House, and £9,000 to Fan Hitter PR.

John Carson, a tram project critic who is standing as an independent candidate in the city centre council by-election, is quoted as saying: “They claim to have all this in-house expertise but keep going outside for advice. It doesn’t seem logical.”

PR firms aren’t the only ones to be reaping the rewards of the stalling construction project however, with law firm DLA Piper paid more than £2.6m since 2008 and former partner Andrew Fitchie pocketing a £50,000 bonus.

Other legal firms have also received payments, including Brodies, Dickson Minto, Dundas & Wilson, Morton Fraser and Tods Murray, while almost £1m went to recruitment firm Search and a further £50,000 to headhunters Munro Consulting

Steve Cardownie, deputy council leader, commented: “On the face of it, these payments look to be totally outrageous. I've always said this project is a Klondike for consultants and lawyers and that has proved to be the case.

“It could also be that the propriety of some of these payments merits further investigation.”

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