A Unite investigation led by construction lawyer Martin Bowdery KC into the controversial scheme in Birmingham claims the job was awarded with no competitive tender to contractors who were \u201cgood friends\u201d of McCluskey.<\/p>\n
The building was under construction from 2016-20 and cost over \u00a3110m. It was later valued at \u00a338m.<\/p>\n
The report stated that the original contract gave the builder an \u201cofficially agreed \u00a312.5% profit mark-up\u201d before extra costs started to mount up.<\/p>\n
The cost of preliminary items like scaffolding and machinery jumped from \u00a311.9m to \u00a322.4m which the report \u201ccould not identify any reasons for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other increases identified in the investigation included the cost of \u201choles through blockwork and the like\u201d rising from an original estimate of \u00a391,000 to \u00a31.28m.<\/p>\n
The cost of rainscreen cladding also rose 375% to \u00a33.3m.<\/p>\n
McCluskey\u2019s lawyers told the BBC<\/em> he paid for his own travel in full, and, to his recollection, always paid the cost of his football tickets.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n