Councillors accused senior officers of bringing in a "cartel" to build a new £22 million primary school after they appointed an Edinburgh-based group to take on the project without consultation.
Midlothian Council's elected members reacted with anger after they were asked to approve a decision by officers to bring in Hub South East (HubSE) Scotland to redesign the new Easthouses Primary School and appoint a preferred contractor against the "express will" of councillors.
Councillor Derek Milligan, who led the previous Labour administration, said elected members had made it clear they did not want to use HubSE, which it was claimed only allowed a pool of preferred firms to bid for contracts.
