MSPs will sit in the new parliament building next year

Edinburgh architect David Black said he was targeting the UK Government's handling of the Holyrood project.

His complaint alleges that the way the site was selected, the choice of architect and the awarding of some of the contracts broke European fair competition rules.

MSPs are not expected to move into the new parliament building until 2004.

The budget for the project has spiralled from the original estimate of £40m.

The latest figures from parliamentary officials put the cost of the building at just under £295m, with landscaping adding another £14.2m to the price tag.

MSPs will want to sit on the price and we will get a cut price building and that's not acceptable David Black

Mr Black, who has written a critical book on the Scottish Parliament project, confirmed that he had sent a complaint to the Secretary General's office in Brussels.

"I'm surprised that not one of the 129 MSPs have taken this further, and I feel the Holyrood project is just getting ridiculous and that it could not be dealt with properly in Britain.

"This was implemented in Downing Street and I feel the focus has to be put there.

"MSPs will want to sit on the price and we will get a cut price building and that's not acceptable," he added.

"Why must this funding come out of Scottish health, Scottish education and Scottish infrastructure when in fact Downing Street set it up?" " he said.

Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie commented: "The buck for the Holyrood fiasco stops with the Labour Party and its successive leaders in Scotland.

"They chose the contract and the site and chose to finance it using public money instead of private money, a decision (First Minister) Jack McConnell now admits he regrets."

Parliamentary authorities said that the auditor general had looked into the issue in September 2000 and found that the allegations were baseless and that nothing was expected to come from the official complaint.