Bus firm McGill's vows to take Swinney to 'every court in the land' over 'business confiscation' bus plans

McGill's chairman Ralph Roberts has stood by his owners' comparison of First Minister John Swinney to African dictators, saying "that's how it feels from their perspective." Roberts argued the SNP's plan could run into hundreds of millions of pounds a year at the taxpayer's expense and put the firm "out of business". He said his alternatives "always fall on deaf ears". Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth responded by noting that the Easdale brothers are Labour donors.

Co-owner Sandy Easdale said Swinney had become "the next Idi Amin or Robert Mugabe".

Swinney told the SNP's Aberdeen conference that buses will be under public control by 2031.

Strathclyde's franchising scheme alone was estimated to cost £15m and take up to seven years.