Former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman has said she was “furious” at the last-minute discovery of safety issues at a newly built hospital, blaming it on a “failure of governance”.

Ms Freeman said it came as a “bolt from the blue” when she was made aware of concerns around the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh on July 2 2019, days before it was due to open on July 9.

She halted the move from the existing site after final compliance checks revealed the ventilation system in the critical care department of the new building did not meet the necessary standards.

Ms Freeman told the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry she decided the new hospital could not open as planned because she was not confident that it would be a safe environment to put patients and staff into.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Politics Matters