Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie

Scottish Tories have called for the BBC to give evidence to the Fraser inquiry into spiralling costs of the Holyrood parliament building.

Lord Fraser of Carmyllie has expressed "dismay" that the BBC Scotland chief John McCormick has refused to release footage from a documentary in which key players involved in the project were interviewed - on the grounds that editorial policy would be breached.

Contributors, who included the late first minister Donald Dewar and the late architect Enric Miralles, had been assured that their interviews would only be used in the final programme, he argued.

However speaking on Monday, leader of the Scottish Conservatives David McLetchie argued the inquiry's credibility would be undermined if BBC figures were not called to give evidence.

"John McCormick should be brought in front of this inquiry and if [director general] Greg Dyke and anyone else at the BBC was party to this decision, they should be called as well," he said.

"All those who have given interviews for public broadcast should also be asked to sign waivers allowing the footage to be seen now.

"It's ludicrous that the BBC could choose to broadcast every interview to the whole world but will not make them available to one man for an inquiry.

"John McCormick needs to explain himself and, if necessary, should be named and shamed."

A BBC Scotland spokeswoman insisted that the corporation had heard nothing from Lord Fraser's inquiry since McCormick had declined the request for the footage.

"In the circumstances, we can't really comment further," she added.