THE Tory peer behind a failed clan celebration that left businesses and the taxpayer out of pocket has been trying to secure more public money for a follow-up event.
Lord Sempill said he was looking for a consultancy fee from Stirling Council if he advised the body on a second Gathering in 2014, despite the first event in Edinburgh leaving a trail of debts in its wake.
The Gathering 2009, run by Lord Sempill's firm, was a Homecoming event with Highland Games, a meeting of the clans and a pageant. It received around £670,000 of public money, which included funding from City of Edinburgh Council and a £180,000 loan from the Scottish Government.
However, it suffered large losses and Lord Sempill's firm was unable to repay the loan. In the end, the liquidator's list of creditors stood at £726,000.
There was an Audit Scotland investigation and a parliamentary inquiry.
It has since emerged that Stirling Council has had early-stage discussions about hosting another Gathering in two years.
The council bought the intellectual property rights and last year met Lord Sempill, who shared his experiences.
Documents released under freedom of information legislation show Lord Sempill met council Lord Provost Fergus Wood in October.
After the meeting, Lord Sempill repeated his desire to help organise a second Gathering in an email to Mr Wood: "I wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm my interest in helping you to attract the international clan community and to provide whatever assistance you may need in putting the event together."
He added: "I would be looking for a consultancy fee to provide my services."
After Lord Sempill announced the possibility of a second Gathering in a bulletin, a senior council official emailed him: "Can I ask you to be cautious about what you say and the degree of certainty that you appear to give to anything.
"Can I also ask that you be careful that you don't 'steal the thunder' of any press announcement we might want to do as part of a PR and marketing campaign for any Gathering 2014?"
Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said businesses in Edinburgh who lost money and staff "will be furious that a repeat of the fiasco was even on the cards".
A spokesman for Stirling Council said: "Lord Sempill asked to see us in order to share some of his thoughts. We agreed to meet him to listen, but beyond that have given no commitment to working with him or anyone else at this stage."
Lord Sempill could not be reached.
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