Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to "finally come clean" on the SNP's broken promise to dual the A9 between Inverness and Perth by 2025 when she appears before a key Holyrood committee on Wednesday.
Ahead of the former First Minister’s questioning by the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee, Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston said SNP ministers had misled the public over delays to the project and demanded Ms Sturgeon open and honest when answering the committee’s questions.
The SNP pledged in 2011 to complete the dual carriageway by 2025, but admitted last year that the project would not be completed until at least 2035, sparking outrage from campaigners and local road users concerned about the rising death toll on the road.
Mr Halcro Johnston said: “The SNP’s failure to dual the A9 between Inverness and Perth has been nothing short of a scandal, one which has cost lives.
“Time and time again, SNP ministers misled the public, claiming things were on track when they knew they weren’t, and only admitting last year how badly behind schedule the project was.
“Much of this failure happened on Nicola Sturgeon’s watch and overseen by ministers she appointed. It is time for her to finally – belatedly – come clean on her role in this mess.
“There should be no repeat of her previous appearances before committees, where her answers have often been evasive. Nicola Sturgeon must be open about her party’s and her own failures.
“Local residents, and those who use the A9, deserve full and honest answers from Nicola Sturgeon as to why the project is a decade behind schedule and why this fact was kept from the public for so long”.
ENDS
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