£400M ‘SQUANDERED’ ON LEGAL SERVICES BY SNP – SNP accused of having ‘breathtaking contempt for taxpayers’ money’

More than £400m of taxpayers’ money has been “squandered” on legal services by Scotland’s public sector, it has been alleged, after it emerged that SNP ministers are facing two more lawsuits.

Figures provided by 168 public sector organisations in Scotland disclosed that £272m has been spent on internal legal services departments in the last three years.

A further £134m has been spent on contracted external legal services, according to the figures, which were released under a freedom of information request.

The Scottish Government had the largest bill, spending £89m, while NHS National Services Scotland spent £62m. It was also disclosed that nearly 1,300 employees in the Scottish public sector work in legal departments.

Stephen Kerr, the Tory MSP who obtained and collated the figures, said the £406m total was “a staggering sum that should have been spent on front-line NHS workers or invested in our crumbling education system”.

For Women Scotland, a feminist campaign group that won a Supreme Court case over the definition of a woman, is suing SNP ministers again after accusing them of refusing to implement the ruling.