A UK government minister blocked Scotland's bottle return scheme in order to give the SNP a "black eye", a court has been told.

Former circular economy minister Lorna Slater accused ex-Scottish secretary Lord Alister Jack of acting in "bad faith" when he refused to grant an exclusion for glass bottles under the Internal Market Act (IMA).

This decision led to the Scottish government changing its plans for its deposit return scheme (DRS) in 2023.

A UK-wide DRS is planned but it is not expected to begin before 2027.

Biffa Waste Services is suing the Scottish government at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, seeking £166m of reparations over the decision to delay the scheme.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ms Slater said Lord Jack had "single-handedly undermined" the scheme using what was effe

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