Edinburgh trams: Council reaches settlement after suing law firm

The City of Edinburgh Council has settled its multi-million pound damages claim against a law firm that advised it over the first tram project. The local authority was seeking more than £200m in compensation, claiming DLA Piper failed to give adequate warnings that the price of the tram line would escalate. But under the terms of the agreement with DLA Piper, the council said it could not disclose details of the settlement. The first tram project from the city centre to the airport went over budget by £400m and was delivered five years late. The settlement was made ahead of a hearing at the Court of Session. A report set to go in front of a full council meeting on Thursday said: "The litigation against DLA Piper Scotland LLP was resolved out of court in March 2026." DLA Piper have been approached for comment. The report also revealed the results of an investigation by the council's own monitoring officer into criticisms made by Lord Hardie in his tram inquiry report. The £13m inquiry concluded in 2023 that failings by the City of Edinburgh Council and its arms-length companies were to blame for the delays in the tram project. Now the council's monitoring officer has said that the l