The next item of business is a statement by Kenny MacAskill on the Jim Clark rally incidents. As the cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement, there should be no interventions or interruptions.
I call Kenny MacAskill. Cabinet secretary, you have up to 10 minutes.
14:15
I would like to make a statement about the fatalities that occurred last Saturday near Swinton in the Borders during the Jim Clark memorial rally.
I know that the whole chamber will wish to join me in expressing condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured. The three spectators who died were John Leonard Stern, aged 71, from Bearsden; Elizabeth Allan, aged 63, from Barrhead; and her partner, Iain Provan, aged 64, also from Barrhead. Above all, our thoughts are with their grieving families at this difficult time. It is important now that we give the bereaved not only all possible support but the time and privacy to grieve in peace and to make their funeral arrangements.
The two casualties who were transferred to Edinburgh royal infirmary are continuing to receive on-going care there. One is in a satisfactory condition, and the other remains in a critical condition. We all hope and pray that they will both make a full and speedy recovery from their injuries.
Just after 4 pm on Saturday afternoon, a rally car left the road at the Swinton section of the Jim Clark rally and collided with a number of spectators. Three people died and one was seriously injured. One casualty was later evacuated by air ambulance to Edinburgh royal infirmary. Earlier the same day, at around 2 pm, another rally car left the road during a different stage, injuring six people. All six were taken to the Borders general hospital for treatment, and one of those injured was also subsequently transferred to Edinburgh royal infirmary.
The incident has come as a tremendous shock to that Berwickshire community and to the wider motorsport family. All across Scotland and far beyond, people are sharing the sadness of this tragic event and stand ready to offer whatever support they can.
As the First Minister said on Saturday, this was desperately sad and difficult news for the Borders. People out for the weekend to enjoy their motorsport and to remember the achievements of one of the world’s great racing drivers did not return home. That was the tragic outcome of this year’s rally, and it was an outcome that shocked us all and which will live with us for years to come.
Saturday was a black day for the rally, for the Borders and for Scotland, but we must and will learn lessons. We need to understand what caused Saturday’s fatalities and ensure that the tragic events in the Borders help us make future rallies safer.
Yesterday, the Lord Advocate and I went to Kelso to receive a briefing on Saturday’s tragic events from Police Scotland and Scottish Borders Council. We were briefed on the event, the incidents, the emergency response and the spectator safety arrangements. At the weekend I also spoke to the leader of Scottish Borders Council, David Parker, about the incident, and I have met with the council’s chief executive.
All three emergency services—Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service—as well as the national health service and Scottish Borders Council were involved in the immediate response to the incidents, and Police Scotland family liaison officers have been deployed to support the next of kin of the deceased. I would like to thank everyone who assisted in the response to these terrible incidents.
A full police investigation into the circumstances is now under way under the direction of the Crown, and a Police Scotland major investigation team is in place. Primacy lies with the police investigation. The decision on whether to hold a discretionary fatal accident inquiry is for the Lord Advocate alone, as is any decision on whether criminal prosecution is appropriate.
The Jim Clark memorial rally, which began on Friday, is a hugely popular annual event in the Borders and is attended by thousands of spectators over three days. This year’s rally commenced in Duns on Friday 30 May, moved to the Kelso area on Saturday and was due to conclude at Duns on Sunday.
Following the second incident, the Jim Clark Rally executive committee, Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland took a joint decision to abandon the rally, and the final stages that were scheduled for Sunday were cancelled.
Scotland has a strong tradition and a great history in motorsport. Jim Clark’s name is up there alongside those of Sir Jackie Stewart, David Coulthard and the McRae family. The legacy of those sporting heroes is immense and has been proudly continued by the likes of Dario Franchitti, Allan McNish and Paul Di Resta.
It is a fitting tribute to the late Jim Clark that the rally in his name has taken place in the Scottish Borders since 1970. It is the largest rally in the United Kingdom—some 250 competitors take part in it—and it is the only rally on the UK mainland that takes place on closed public roads. It includes many special stages over its 310 miles.
The Jim Clark Rally Ltd is a company that is owned by the organisers—Berwick & District Motor Club Ltd and Border Ecosse Car Club Ltd. The rally is organised by the Jim Clark Rally executive committee, with assistance from Scottish Borders Council and the British rally championship, and it is one of seven rallies on the 2014 British rally championship calendar. The rally is organised in conjunction with the Motor Sports Association, which is the governing body in the UK. It is responsible for the governance and administration of all major forms of motorsport in the UK, and it controls the technical and sporting rules across the various disciplines. The association’s chief executive, Rob Jones, has said that, once the police investigation has been concluded, the incident will be the subject of full inquiries by the association to ensure that any lessons are learned to assist in the constant drive to provide the highest possible safety standards at all motorsport events.
I know that the Jim Clark rally is a long-standing event that has been part of the local community for 44 years and that it has a good safety record. It is a hugely popular event that has brought enormous benefit to Berwickshire year after year.
The Scottish Government receives an annual report from the organisers. That process allows a review to be carried out of the effects of the rally on the ground of public safety to ensure that lessons learned are carried forward for the future. The legislation that governs the rally was passed in 1996. It provides that ministers may prohibit the holding of the rally or permit it, subject to certain terms and conditions. In the light of Saturday’s events, the Minister for Transport and Veterans will give careful consideration to the public safety aspects of the 2015 rally and the need for conditions. The decision that is taken will be dependent on the information that comes forward from the safety review of the event.
We have had discussions with Police Scotland about the need to review spectator safety more generally. The longer days are with us and we are moving into an unprecedented summer of events. With that in mind, I think that it is appropriate to review safety at public events and to do so speedily. Across the country, there is a busy calendar of events and a huge amount of careful planning has already been done.
Although, as a closed-road and unticketed motor rally, the Jim Clark rally is unique, the Scottish Government will ask Police Scotland to work with event organisers and local authorities to undertake a health check of event planning for events that will take place this summer. That will ensure that robust safety regimes and risk assessment procedures are in place and that licensing conditions are being met. Police Scotland has undertaken to carry out that review over the next four weeks.
Spectator safety must always be paramount. In the light of the deaths at the weekend, the Scottish Government will commission a review of motorsport event safety in Scotland, for which it will draw on safety experts and the knowledge and expertise of the motorsport community. The review will also include Scottish Borders Council, Police Scotland, the Motor Sports Association, event organisers and other key stakeholders. It will include a review of the training and deployment of stewards, as well as all other safety-related controls. The Scottish ministers have the power to impose conditions on the rally, and the Minister for Transport and Veterans will wish to have sight of the review of motorsport event safety’s recommendations before a decision is made on whether to impose such conditions.
Sadly, Scotland has seen human tragedies at sporting events in the past. We have come through those traumatic events, learned the hard lessons and acted on them so that, for example, our major sports stadia are now far safer for large crowds of spectators. That can be of small comfort to those who grieve today, but it is a process that is necessary and important.
Again, on behalf of this Parliament and this country, I extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of all three victims.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow about 20 minutes for questions, after which we will move on to the next item of business. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask a question would press their request-to-speak buttons now.
I thank the cabinet secretary for early sight today of his statement. I associate Scottish Labour with the sentiments that he expressed during the statement on this terrible tragedy. No doubt there are pressing questions that we would all like answers to, but I realise, as will many in the chamber, that we must await the outcome of the police inquiries. Nevertheless, can the cabinet secretary tell us who will lead on the longer-term Government review of motorsport event safety and what timescales he envisages for reporting back to the chamber?
We are currently inquiring as to who wishes to come on board with the review. I have made it clear to the chamber that we intend it to be a wider review that will include local authorities and those involved in motorsport. We are seeking to obtain some expert advice, but Government ministers will, through their officials, ultimately be in charge.
Obviously, we will have to await the availability of information necessary to those involved in the review, so it is difficult to be precise about the timing. We have to ensure that the appropriate information is available—that it can be released by the police and the Crown. It is certainly the intention to undertake the review as expeditiously as possible, but that must be balanced with the need to make sure that we get it right.
In light of the manner in which the member asked his question and made his contribution, I can give him an assurance that we will be more than happy to engage with other political parties as well as the broader stakeholders to ensure that primacy is given to the police and the Crown and that events—such as an FAI, although that is for others to decide on—can take place. However, at the same time, we want to get on with the review to make sure that motorsport, which has provided benefits to Scotland, can continue in a manner in which we can ensure that the safety of those who go to watch it will not be endangered.
I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for an advance copy of his statement.
As the cabinet secretary said, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and friends and those who are still in hospital. We should also think of the spectators and marshals who witnessed the horrific scenes on Saturday afternoon.
Clearly, it is welcome news that a full investigation will be carried out. However, I caution against any knee-jerk reactions in how we respond to the tragedy. The rally is a long-established event in the Borders, and although everyone is shocked by what happened at the weekend, it would be regrettable if any premature decisions were taken about the event’s future.
Can the cabinet secretary assure me that there will be close co-operation with the Motor Sports Association, the Berwick & District Motor Club and the Border Ecosse Car Club to ensure that any additional controls are realistic and achievable in order to allow the continued running of this and similar events?
I can give Mr Lamont the assurance that there will be no rush to judgment. As Mr Pearson indicated, those who are charged with carrying out the investigation will do that. In the wider review, we will ensure that those with skills and expertise are brought on board to be part of it.
Mr Lamont made a valid point: as I said in my statement, Scotland has a proud history of success in motorsport, and there are those, too, who have simply participated, spectated and enjoyed it. The Jim Clark rally has run for 44 years without any previous tragedy, so we must ensure that we do not rush to judgment. However, we must also ensure that lessons are learned and that, once available to us, they are implemented.
I assure Mr Lamont that those who are involved at the coal face will be part of the discussions, which will involve not just the operators of the Jim Clark Rally Ltd but, more important, Scottish Borders Council and other councils in Scotland. Although the input and contribution to motorsport of the Borders—including, not least, those of the late Jim Clark—have been significant, many other areas in Scotland welcome and benefit from motorsport.
I, too, extend my condolences to all those who have been affected by this tragedy. Is the cabinet secretary aware of why the rally continued after the first accident and whether any consideration was given at that time to cancelling it?
That matter was raised with the Lord Advocate and me. The rally has a joint agency basis and there is a safety committee that includes not just the Jim Clark Rally executive committee but Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland. After the first incident, an investigation or inquiry was made by all those organisations, which came to the conclusion that it appeared to have been due to a mechanical error and that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the site. It was on that basis that the rally continued. It appears that full consideration was given by all those who are involved in the safety committee and that the first incident was not related to the subsequent incident. It appeared to relate to a mechanical failure on the vehicle and was nothing to do with any safety-related aspect of the route.
I join others across the Parliament in expressing condolences and wishes for the speedy recovery of those who were involved in this tragedy. I ask the cabinet secretary what advice is to be given to spectator events this summer, including such things as on-road cycle events, while the health checks and the broader review that he mentioned in his statement proceed.
I welcome the member’s contribution. That is clearly something that the Government and particularly the cabinet secretary for sport and the Commonwealth games are very concerned about, and that is why we have engaged with Police Scotland. We have no reason to believe that there is anything untoward, and many of the events have already been properly scrutinised not simply by the police but by local authorities. After discussion with Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, however, it has been made clear that Police Scotland will carry out an investigation over a period of four weeks and report back. As I said, they already believe that there has been proper scrutiny and there is no cause for fear or alarm, but having seen what occurred at the weekend, I think it is right and proper that a quick review is carried out to provide as much assurance as we can that those who will go to events in coming weeks, whether those events are large or small and whether they relate to cycling, motorsport or anything else, can be assured that they will be as safe as they can be.
I, too, extend my condolences to an area that I used to represent and that part of the Borders. I agree with the cabinet secretary that this is not a circumstance in which a mandatory FAI should be held, but I respectfully suggest to the Lord Advocate—I know that he is not here, but he will hear this—that we must have an FAI and that, given that they take so long, it should be done expeditiously.
The member is quite correct. It would be a discretionary FAI. The Lord Advocate has taken a special interest, travelling down yesterday not only to be briefed by the council and the divisional commander and gold commander at the time, but to visit the locuses. It will be for him to decide, given the discretionary aspect, but I think that I can assure the member that the Lord Advocate will seek to deal with the matter as expeditiously as possible and he is giving it his personal attention.
I am sure that all our thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy and their families. I understand that a motorsport safety code exists and that the programme for the event made reference to it. Will the review of motorsport event safety that the Scottish Government is commissioning include the way in which the code is disseminated to spectators and volunteers at events?
The member makes a valid point. Some of those aspects will come out in the investigation and indeed in any FAI, but they have to be reflected on and reviewed. It is for that reason that the review that we are setting up will include those who have expertise but also others who can perhaps bring a fresh perspective to ensure that the expertise is as up to date as it can be and that it takes into account all appropriate criteria including information that comes to light in the investigation. I think that I can give the member that assurance.
I thank the cabinet secretary for the statement. Our thoughts, too, are with the relatives and friends of those who tragically died on a day when they should have been enjoying their sport, and with those who were injured. It is appropriate to acknowledge those members of the emergency services who had to deal with the tragedy.
The cabinet secretary was correct to say that this was the 44th Jim Clark rally. We know that the rally brings in an annual local spend of £3.3 million, but safety and the protection of life must be paramount. Is now an appropriate time to look at the resourcing of stewards and spectator safety at rallies? Will he support counselling for those who might have traumatic stress after this tragic event?
The member raises two issues. As he suggested, the matter is one of balance. I agree. We require to learn and take on board the lessons. We must balance the great enjoyment of the rally, its benefits and prestige and its income benefits to the community with public safety, which must always be paramount. Lessons will be learned.
My colleague Paul Wheelhouse has already spoken to me about post-traumatic stress disorder, on which I am happy to engage with Scottish Borders Council. The issue might not be for Victim Support Scotland, but other resources are available. We will engage with the council and other agencies on what can be done. I have no doubt that some people who were present saw the tragedy unfold before their eyes, and they might well require treatment.
I, too, associate myself with the condolences that my colleagues have expressed. I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement.
I am the convener of the cross-party group on accident prevention and safety awareness, which has previously considered road safety and safety in leisure and sporting activities. Many of the group’s members will have been directly affected by this tragic event.
At this early stage, are there indications of the key lessons to be learned about accident prevention and safety awareness? How will those lessons be imparted to professionals and the wider safety community?
We intend the lessons to be imparted through the review group, whose report will be made available. Police officers and specialist road traffic officers have been at the scene. The Motor Sports Association will take part in the on-going investigation. We must leave it to those who have expertise to ensure that the site is properly examined. As I said, time was taken to ensure that the bodies were removed with dignity.
Lessons are being learned and the circumstances are being looked at by those with many years’ expertise. I confirm to Clare Adamson that, once the lessons from the experts have been learned, they will be imparted. The Administration will expect those lessons to be taken on board by all who are responsible for running and organising such events.
My family business had a motorsport division that entered and won rally races across Scotland, so I share the dismay of all those who love motorsport in Scotland. I add my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives—particularly the West Scotland constituents from Barrhead.
The cabinet secretary is right to say that the event has an exemplary track record, but the code that many people observe arose from tragedies that occurred, albeit many years ago. As well as looking at what fresh safety advice might be required, will those involved look at whether complacency might have grown because of the absence of accidents in recent years? The existing advice is robust, but it needs to be properly implemented to ensure safety at such events.
The member makes a fair point. For that reason, the review will not concentrate simply on the Scottish Borders. We are aware that a tragedy occurred up in the north of Scotland at a motorsport event just a year or so ago. Lessons must be learned in every locality.
I cannot speculate on whether there was complacency, but I can say that the Motor Sports Association and those who run the Jim Clark rally are deeply shocked and are willing to co-operate. We intend to learn lessons, to ensure that they are taken on board and to ensure that Police Scotland, local authorities and event organisers properly implement the appropriate lessons.
I, too, add my condolences to the affected people. Will the cabinet secretary provide further information on the response to this terrible incident by the emergency services on the day?
I thought that the response was outstanding. Obviously, Police Scotland was there and was involved in the organisation. The fire and rescue and ambulance services were also there. Many events, such as music festivals, and sporting events, such as the rally, have great crowd safety implications. Plans and preparations are always made, we hope, and in most instances they do not require to be implemented. It is clear that Police Scotland was on the scene at the time of the second incident, and all parties agreed that the rally should be cancelled forthwith. That allowed the fire and rescue and ambulance services and, indeed, Scottish Borders Council and the police to do their job. Again, I put on record my gratitude and thanks to those who dealt with what must have been a very distressing incident. Although doing that is their job and what they are trained to do, it must have been very distressing to have to deal with three fatalities as well as the consequences.
The review may well result in additional responsibilities relating to sporting events being placed on local authorities—for example, in relation to risk assessment and safety procedures. Can I get an assurance that the Scottish Government will fully fund any such duties?
It would be premature for me to rush to judgment. I know how Scottish Borders Council welcomed the rally and equally I know about its consciousness of safety. It welcomes the rally because it provides good fun, which many of its residents contribute to and participate in, and it also brings a great deal of benefit into the local community. It is not a matter of pounds, shillings and pence: we cannot put a price on those whom we have lost. Every organisation—national or local government, council or private consortium—has an obligation to ensure that public safety is paramount. No price can be put on that.
Can the cabinet secretary assure us that there has been or will be full engagement with the local community and that its views about the future will be taken into account?
Absolutely. That is why, on Sunday, I phoned the leader of Scottish Borders Council and, on Monday, the Lord Advocate and I met its chief executive and members of staff. That liaison and relationship will continue. We appreciate that what happened has deeply affected many local people. That is why arrangements have been made so that those who wish to pay tribute or lay flowers can do so. We will work with Scottish Borders Council and the health service in the Borders to do what is necessary to support the local community as well as the families, throughout Scotland and elsewhere, who are grieving.
Previous
Topical Question TimeNext
Air Passenger Duty