Benefits cuts

In an article on the rise of Scots living in poverty by Scott Macnab (The Scotsman, 23 March) John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group, says that: “All the evidence suggests that eye-watering cuts to UK benefits for families both in and out of work are the key drivers for this upward trend.”

Annie Wells, the equalities spokeswoman for the Conservative Party, chooses to blame SNP policies.

She does this even though she knows that large chunks of the Scottish budget have had to be reallocated to mitigate the effects of Tory benefit cuts and punitive welfare policies.

It’s another clear indication that hypocrisy has been turned into an art form in the Scottish Conservative Party.

GILL TURNER Derby Street, Edinburgh