Anti-booze lobby pushing for annual hike

SCOTS could face a hefty annual rise in alcohol prices if campaigners get their way.

- By David Walker

The Scottish Government's unpopular minimum unit pricing (MUP) has failed to reduce booze-related deaths in Scotland, its critics maintain.

Despite this, the government chose to increase the cost per unit of alcohol to 65p from 50p last year.

And now calls have been made for automatic annual increases without the need for Holyrood approval, likely to be pegged to inflation.