Civil servants ignored the request of a Scottish minister to ensure Aberdeen was the preferred site for a major new Energy Technologies Institute and failed to keep a record of why Glasgow was selected.

The St Andrew's House officials were criticised by a Holyrood committee yesterday for their handling of a joint Scottish bid to host a new UK research centre with a £1bn budget. Evidence emerged in the report of university rivalry threatening to undermine the Scottish pitch.

The bidding process was changed mid-way through, with claims that the Scottish option involved unexplained "management risks". In a decision last autumn, the institute went to Loughborough.

The Scottish Parliament's Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Committee investigated the reasons why Scotland failed to get this major inward investment for which it should have been front runner. Its report questions why the bidding process criteria were changed, away from a stress on research strength and in favour of accommodation.

LibDem leader Nicol Stephen, when he was Enterprise Minister in the last administration, told officials he wanted the hub of the proposed institute to be in Aberdeen, where he is an MSP. He claims they warned him that would lead to university rivals in Glasgow and Edinburgh pulling out, which contradicts claims that relations between the universities were strong.

Only after the SNP took office was the Glasgow decision taken and MSPs criticised the new administration for a lack of information on how that happened.