Bottle lines are drawn

Yousaf takes a Swipe at his rival over the deposit plan in key debate

- CHRIS MCCALL

6/10

The former minister has struggled during the campaign, but she has gradually improved and the BBC debate was her best so far. She seemed most surefooted on independence and weakest on public services, where she resorts to platitudes. She too went soft on Forbes, a double act that may be causing worry in Team Yousaf.

HUMZA Yousaf last night accused rival Kate Forbes of letting business "off the hook" over the bottle deposit scheme as they clashed in the final TV debate of the SNP leadership race.

The two frontrunners to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as first minister set out opposing views on the future of the Scottish Government's flagship recycling initiative, which is due to launch in August.

Yousaf accused Finance Secretary Forbes of being on the side of big business after she repeated her intention to pause the deposit return scheme (DRS) if she wins power.

The Health Secretary suggested smaller drinks producers could be exempted from the scheme but insisted it should still be launched later this year.

The DRS will see a 20p deposit for each single use drink can or bottle bought in Scotland in a bid to encourage more recycling.

But many companies have refused to sign up and other firms have warned the scheme could put them out of business in its current form.

In a testy exchange during the live BBC debate, Yousaf was asked by host Stephen Jardine why he had earlier suggested that Forbes had "moved to the right economically".

He said: "I was simply saying we should build on our progressive agenda. What you could do is exclude small business and ensure big business is held to account.