Meanwhile, landowners face wrath of the law under Nats

NICOLA Sturgeon has threatened criminal action against landowners who refuse to submit to a public register.

She signalled that the so-called Panama Papers detailing tax avoidance by the superrich would be used to justify a fresh assault on Scotland’s estate owners.

Plans for a public register of landowners were included in the reforms passed through the last parliament, only weeks ago.

Last night critics said the threat of criminal sanctions by the First Minister smacked of ‘posturing’. Elsewhere on the campaign trail yesterday:

Labour’s Kezia Dugdale pledged £40million for an after-school sports revolution.

Ruth Davidson, Scots Tory leader, said thousands of farmers were still waiting on EU payments from the Scottish Government.

And the SNP said Conservatives should be ‘deeply ashamed’ as foodbank use soared to a new high.

Miss Sturgeon, who has pledged to put a million acres of land in public ownership by 2020, said she is determined to shine a light on who owns Scotland.

The First Minister added: ‘The people of Scotland have a right to know who owns Scotland’s land. One of the first major actions of a newly elected SNP Government will be to consult on plans for a new Register of Controlling Interests, which will shine the bright light of transparency onto the issue.

‘The Panama papers have exposed some of the issues around anonymous ownership of land – however the people of Scotland shouldn’t have to rely on leaked documents to find out who owns Scotland.’

The Land Reform Bill passed last month gave ministers the power to force the sell-off of land if owners are judged to be blocking economic development, in what has been dubbed a ‘Big Brother-style land grab’.

It also gave tenant farmers with no successors the right to sell on their tenancies, while tax relief will be scrapped for shooting estates, costing rural firms millions.

However, the proposals suffered an embarrassing defeat at SNP conference last year, when the party’s own delegates sent them back for not being radical enough.

They have demanded an absolute right to buy for tenant farmers, despite fears it would plunge the future of the industry into doubt and threaten food production in Scotland. Yesterday’s announcement was seen as an attempt to reassure the SNP’s more radical supporters that it intends to go even further in the next parliament.

But Murdo Fraser, Scottish Tory candidate for Perthshire North, said: ‘The idea of land transparency is unobjectionable. Even Scottish landowners have no objections.

‘What is questionable is whether criminal penalties are a proportionate response to what may not even be a major problem. There is a whiff of the politics of envy to the way the SNP is approaching this whole debate.’

David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land and Estates, said: ‘We published our Landowners’ Commitment in 2014 which addressed this issue and our members have been at the vanguard of the voluntary registration process.’

Miss Sturgeon had already bailed out Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, by providing £200million for farmers still waiting on EU payments because of the Scottish Government’s incompetence.

Miss Davidson, speaking ahead of meeting farmers in Aberdeenshire yesterday, said: ‘For many people in Scotland, the election campaign may be grabbing the attention, but the fact is that thousands of farmers and crofters are still waiting to receive their CAP payments from the Scottish Government.’

But she also faced criticism for the impact of UK Government welfare cuts on the poorest families, after the Trussell Trust revealed the number of three-day emergency food parcels needed in Scotland increased by 13 per cent last year.

Alex Neil, the SNP’s Social Justice Secretary, said: ‘The fact that foodbank use continues to grow is a damning indictment of the UK Government’s record which should leave the Tories deeply ashamed.’

Meanwhile, Miss Dugdale said Labour would use Scotland’s share of funds from the sugar tax to pay for more after-school sports. She said: ‘Every single young person deserves the best possible start in life. With a Labour Scottish Government that will mean a world class education in the classroom and the opportunity to get involved in sport after school.’

‘Whiff of the politics of envy to the debate’