Hypocrisy of the £300k MSP motorists

MSPs have claimed nearly £300,000 of public money in motoring costs – despite attempting to discourage driving.

New figures show SNP and Green politicians have claimed a total of £279,000 since 2016 – on mileage, parking and car hire.

This includes Public Finance Minister Kate Forbes, who claimed a total of £1 ,187, and Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who had a bill of £ ,285.

AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘The huge hypocrisy here is that these figures show MSPs who are backing this nasty tax are as dependent on the car as AA members and other Scottish drivers.’

An SNP spokesman said: ‘The proposed workplace parking levy would give councils the power to charge a local levy on employers, not individuals.’

The Greens claimed that their MSPs do not have parliamentary car parking spaces – and said that they had to use cars in some cases to reach constituents.