Lord Fraser has detailed a series of recommendations to prevent a repeat of the Holyrood building fiasco.

Fraser said the construction management method, in which all risk lies with the client, should be used only sparingly for any public building project.

The inquiry confirmed the Treasury's guidance that the approach used by the Scottish government should only be used as a "last resort".

"I recommend civil servants contemplating construction management for a public project should reflect long and hard on the advantages and disadvantages of such a route and should set before the political leadership a full evaluation of the risks," said Lord Fraser.

The former Lord Advocate said that in future competitions to select designers, consultants or contractors for public building projects, a consistent approach and a "full and transparent record" of proceedings should be maintained.

Where an international architect of Miralles' standing links up with a Scottish architectural practice, the report recommends that a rigorous evaluation should be made to confirm that their working cultures and practices are compatible.

Following the mismanagement by Barbara Doig and other top level civil servants, the inquiry demands that no-one should be put in charge of any public project without a demonstrable appreciation of what is required under EU procurement rules.

"Not all those who appeared before the inquiry appeared to have a necessary familiarity with these rules," the inquiry found.

Lord Fraser also takes issue with the "filtering" of the views of independent professional advisers by civil servants.

The advisers' views, regardless of their wisdom, should be put to ministers alongside any disagreement officials may have with those views.

The inquiry also suggests that where civil servants are engaged on public projects, governance should be as clear as that required in the private sector.

Lord Fraser goes on to call for an amendment to the 1998 Scotland Act to give wider powers of delegation to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body - which took over control of the building project once problems came to light.

Security and safety considerations should not be viewed as late "add-ons" to a design but as an integral part at the early stages.

Lord Fraser also welcomes the Scottish parliament's decision to change its rules to allow for questions to the presiding officer in his capacity as chairman of the corporate body.