A waste firm suing the Scottish Government over its bottle return scheme has said it was “provided with certainty” that the plan would go ahead.

Biffa Waste Services is looking for £166m of reparations over the decision to delay the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in 2023.

Speaking in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Biffa chief executive Michael Topham said a letter in May 2022 from then government minister Lorna Slater had offered assurances that the scheme would proceed.

“It was so unambiguous and emphatic. It provided me with certainty there was no doubt it was going ahead,“ he said. “I read it as a very unequivocal reassurance about their commitment to the scheme.”

He also claimed it applied “pressure somewhat on us to conclude the contract and move ahead”.

The Scottish

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