Labour’s Anas Sarwar has called on the Scottish Government to “come clean” over plans to close police stations in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.
The party leader made the call as he and candidate Michael Shanks were campaigning outside the force’s part-time Cambuslang base.
Earlier this week, a report, obtained by the Scottish Sun, revealed that Police Scotland was set to close a number of stations in South Lanarkshire.
The document circulated to a number of bodies, including the Scottish Government, listed Cambuslang as well as Rutherglen, and Blantyre as “proposed surplus stations”.
READ MORE: Three police stations in Rutherglen and Hamilton West set to close
As Mr Sarwar was talking to journalists, a lady came to try and access the station to report a crime.
She told the MSP she had initially tried to speak to officers in Blantyre where she lives. However, that station was also closed.
The lady then left to try a third police station in Rutherglen.
Mr Sarwar said the lady’s plight was heartbreaking.
"These are police stations that the Scottish Police Federation tells us that the Scottish Government is now planning to close across this community.
“And I think you've seen a very stark example of what that means consequentially for people, vulnerable people across our communities and across our country.
“And that's why the SNP have to end the secrecy.
“They have to come clean, they have to tell us what their plans are for police stations across the country.”
The Scottish Labour leader said security was “the fundamental principle of what our government is all about".
“And if communities feel less secure because they're cutting police officer numbers or they're closing police stations, then that has to be addressed."
Mr Sarwar described Mr Yousaf as an “out of depth First Minister, with an incompetent SNP government that has lost its way at a time when people require fundamental change in our country.”
READ MORE: Scottish Police Federation in warning over officer number cuts
The SNP leader later hit back at his opposite number.
“I always think that when people begin to make personal attacks on somebody's character, then they probably lost the argument a long, long time ago,” Mr Yousaf said.
“I'll let Anas Sarwar continue the petty personal attacks, he can do that all he wishes. I'm focused on what we're able to deliver.”
On police stations, Mr Yousaf accepted that accessibility to force police was “exceptionally important”.
However, he said these were operational decisions for Police Scotland.
“We're more than happy to continue our conversations with Police Scotland, but they are ultimately in charge of the facilities that they are responsible for.
“What I'm responsible for is making sure Police Scotland are fairly funded.
“They've had an increase to the budget this financial year. That's why we have more police officers per head than England and Wales. That's why recorded crime was at one of its lowest levels and that's what people care about.
“People want to be able to access police, make sure there's bobbies on the beat. You want to make sure that communities are safe. And under the SNP, the evidence is there that we have one of the lowest recorded crime levels in almost 50 years.”
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