Keir Starmer says SNP has 'ran out of excuses' after questions raised over payment to Spanish firm
by Chris McCall, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/authors/chris-mccall/ · Daily RecordGet the latest Daily Record breaking news on WhatsApp
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Keir Starmer has said the SNP Government is "out of excuses" after questions were raised about a taxpayer "bail out" to a Spanish recycling firm.
The Record revealed this week how £5.4m was handed to Tradebe after a devastating fire at its depot in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, in 2021.
The Barcelona-headquartered firm had previously signed a £120m contract in 2019 to dispose of hazardous waste, including human remains, from every hospital, GP surgery and pharmacy in Scotland.
But clinical waste ended up being sent south of the border after the massive blaze in July 2021.
We then reported how Tradebe received an additional £5.4m from National Services Scotland (NSS), which handles third-party contracts for the NHS, in the years after the devastating fire.
The Record's story was raised in the Commons today by Bellshill MP Frank McNally at PMQs.
He said: "Following a major at the Tradebe depot in my constituency in 2021, Scotland's clinical waste was forced to be transported to England, following a complaint lack of forward planning.
"Tradebe was only appointed after the previous contractor collapsed, leaving human remains languishing in a warehouse. It's now been revealed the Spanish company was bailed out with £5.4m of taxpayers' money.
"Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the SNP Government has consistently failed to get a grip of clinical waste disposal and must act appropriately to protect the public purse and ensure public safety?"
The PM replied: "I do agree with that, and it's the rule rather than the exception when it comes to the SNP Government. The challenge for them now is they've got the powers to act, and they've now been given the money to act. They've run out of excuses."
Tradebe picked up a 10-year contract in 2019 after the collapse of Healthcare Environmental Services (HES), which ceased trading after it became embroiled in a clinical waste pile-up controversy with the NHS.
About 350 workers at the Shotts-based company were left penniless around Christmas in 2018 following the termination of its contract with the health service.
The collapse of HES left about 300 tonnes of waste at the firm's plant in North Lanarkshire, which took a year to clear.
A prosecution brought against the defunct company's boss, Garry Pettigrew, was dropped last year.
The scandal left NHS bosses scrambling in 2019 to find an alternative company to handle medical waste.
The decision to appoint Tradebe was questioned at the time after it was linked to a string of pollution controversies.
A spokeswoman for Tradebe said earlier this week: "It would not be appropriate for Tradebe Healthcare to comment on the specific details of our commercial arrangements with NHS Scotland."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Clinical waste disposal is an essential service for the NHS – without it the NHS could not operate.
"The contracts for clinical waste disposal are between Tradebe and NHS health boards, and not the Scottish Government. NHS National Services Scotland manages the contract on behalf of boards."
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