The culture secretary has faced calls to explain a controversial £150,000 cash injection for a major music festival amid accusations of “cronyism”.
Fiona Hyslop received a grilling from MSPs about “close connections with the SNP” during an inquisition into the funding for this year’s T in the Park.
Jennifer Dempsie, who was an aide to Alex Salmond when he was first minister and recently abandoned plans to stand for election for the SNP in the Highlands and islands, worked for DF Concerts, the company behind the festival.
She was involved in setting up the meeting with the culture secretary which led to the decision to give the £150,000 grant to the festival.
Ms Hyslop insisted the future of the festival was under threat without the cash.
At a heated Holyrood committee, Ms Hyslop said she had not read a series of emails from Ms Dempsie begging for an urgent meeting with the culture secretary – but did admit to meeting her at the SNP conference and briefly discussing T in the Park before the donation was given.
The Linlithgow MSP said she “can’t remember” who else was present when she met Ms Dempsie.
Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon demanded the culture secretary explain the bid to get the £150,000, amid suggestions it was “a done deal” because of Ms Dempsie’s “close connections with the SNP”.
Ms Hyslop insisted to the education and culture committee that her decision had been made in the “long-term” interests of T in the Park.
She also said the funding was appropriate and that it was similar to grants given to other popular festivals.
She said: “My interest is the economic interest of this country and the cultural offering we have got for generations of young people, and the development of the contemporary music scene in Scotland.”
When quizzed on why the Scottish Government provided state aid to a profitable company with a major corporate sponsor, the culture secretary said that DF Concerts were under pressure from shareholders and could have been forced to move the event out of Scotland without the cash.
She said: “The Scottish Government provides funding to profitable companies to safeguard jobs and support the economy in all of the sectors that are part of the key economic strategy of the government.
“In relation to T in the Park, the costs of the transition, particularly the unanticipated costs, meant that, in the terms that they themselves have given information, that a seven-figure amount was required to provide for those costs, in particular moving from Balado to Strathallan.”