More effective environmental legislation to be set up in Scotland

More effective environmental legislation is set to be introduced in Scotland in order to cut down on a variety of crimes.

Speaking at the Environmental Crime Summit in Edinburgh, environment secretary Richard Lockhead said as well as stricter laws targeting criminals, a taskforce charged with reducing incidents across the country would also be set up.

The problem of "environmental crime" appears to be on the rise, with thefts of machinery from landfill sites, illegal dumping and money laundering becoming more common.

However, Mr Lockhead is determined to come down hard on offenders and is desperate to maintain Scotland's impressive air and soil quality, agriculture and fishing industry.

"We must take tough, targeted action to prevent criminals from profiting at the expense of our valuable natural resources," he commented.

Scotland had been outlined as the setting for a proposed £1 billion coal-fired carbon capture plant, but the organisations behind the Longannet station recently pulled out of the race for government funding.

Posted by Lauren Steadman