A prominent Isle of Wight Councillor has labelled a recent statement issued regarding the Floating Bridge as 'littered with misinformation, assumptions and hypocrisy.'
Cabinet Member for Transport, Phil Jordan, this morning (Friday) reacted to Conservative Group Leader Cllr Joe Robertson's assertion that the Alliance-led Council should come clean on details surrounding the vessel.
It comes after a settlement was agreed between the Council and designers of Floating Bridge 6, which has been beset by technical issues since it entered service in 2017.
Cllr Robertson's original statement had called for transparency from his rival party over the details of the mediation, with several Freedom of Information requests submitted by Islanders since an agreement was reached late last week.
The original statement issued by Cllr Robertson said:
"The Alliance needs to come clean with people.
"Cllr Phil Jordan made an announcement when mediation began in March of this year but did not disclose that one of the main parties had a liquidator appointed by its creditors.
"When he reported last week that a deal had been reached and legal issues concluded he failed to admit that the designers, who are based on the Isle of Man, might get away without paying a single penny.
"The Alliance (is) trying to keep key details of this whole sorry affair, including (its) own bad decision making, hidden from public scrutiny.
"(It is) resorting to smears and deflection rather than openness and transparency.”
Cllr Jordan subsequently responded, questioning the validity of the original statement.
He said:
"A recent letter to many Island media outlets from Conservative councillor Robertson about the Floating Bridge is littered with misinformation, assumptions and hypocrisy.
"The final settlement included a non-disclosure agreement meaning the final sum will never be published.
"The public are tired of this continual re-adaption of history in an attempt to place blame where no blame lies and to avoid responsibility where responsibility lies.
"I’m sure the public will make up their own minds about such hypocrisy.
"The Alliance has resolved the commercial dispute allowing us to move forward into finding the best option for the future, including, if appropriate, a new vessel."
The Isle of Wight Council announced that a final settlement for the £3.2m boat had been agreed on Friday October 20.
Freedom of Information requests can take up to 20 working days to receive a response.
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