Public inquiry into Glasgow Art School fires rejected

In a letter to MSPs, Mr Robertson said he believed the “resources required, not just financially but in terms of expertise and personnel, would be extensive”.

He wrote: “Given the current financial landscape, it is difficult to identify a way that this could funded, or justified, given the protections already given to historic buildings in fire safety and construction legislation, and the progress already made since the 2018 fire.”

The culture secretary said the “extensive damage” suffered in the 2018 fire had meant the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had been “unable to determine its likely origin and cause”.

Prof Alan Dunlop, whose paintings depicting the fire at the art school were shortlisted for an international prize, said he was “disappointed but not surprised”.

Prof Dunlop has been a persistent critic of GSA management’s handling of the two fires and ran for chair of the board in 2022.

“A public inquiry would have shone light into the darker ineptitudes of governance and leadership – past and present,” he said.

“Communication between the school of art and those interested in the future of the Mackintosh building has been consistently poor.

“The Garnethill Community have been treated shamefully as have generations of art students. No inquiry means no accountability and no justice.”

GSA previously said it was committed to a faithful reinstatement of the building and planned to eventually use it as a working part of the art school.

The school said work to date, totalling about £18m, had been funded by interim payments from the insurers.

Restoration plans have faced delays due to disputes with insurers.