Art school bosses urged to give evidence

Glasgow School of Art management are to be asked to give evidence to MSPs after a Holyrood committee heard of systemic management failures on fire risk.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's historic building was destroyed by a blaze in June but had previously been badly damaged by a fire four years ago.

Mackintosh expert Roger Billcliffe said the Mack building had always been a "fire-trap waiting to happen".

Former GSA employee Eileen Reid said everyone knew the building was a risk.

"We all knew it. We used to talk about how many minutes we would have to get out," she said.

"Of course I was concerned about the iconic building but there was a risk to life too."

Mr Billcliffe said: "The luckiest thing that happened in the 2014 fire is that nobody died.

"If they had died and there had been a fatal accident inquiry, we would have had answers to the questions about why the school wasn't protected."

He said the 2014 fire, which was sparked by a student using flammable materials, had spread due to air vents which acted as chimneys.

Mr Billcliffe said millions of pounds of lottery money had been spent on the building but it did not have simple fire protection measures which would have made it fit for the 21st century.

At the weekend, Muriel Gray, chairwoman of the Glasgow School of Art's board, told the BBC the Mackintosh building would be rebuilt as a working art school, saying that was "non-negotiable".

However, Glasgow Kelvin MSP Sandra White said the GSA board appeared "not fit for purpose".

Culture Committee convener Joan McAlpine said the GSA management would be invited to give evidence at a future committee meeting.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society director Stuart Robertson told the committee it would be tragedy if the Mack was lost.

"You wouldn't build student flats on top of Edinburgh Castle if it burnt down," he said.

"For it to disappear would be a tragedy and it would show that Scotland doesn't care about culture."