SNP forced to defend controversial free ports plan branded 'corporate giveaway' by Greens

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The SNP has been forced to defend controversial plans to create freeports in Scotland after they were branded a "corporate giveaway".

Finance secretary Kate Forbes admitted today "there was a lot of scepticism out there over what they might achieve" as the Greens blasted their coalition partners at Holyrood in a rare split.The Scottish Government has signed a cooperation agreement with Tory ministers at Westminster despite previously opposing such a move.Freeports – special economic zones offering tax breaks and lower tariffs for businesses – are being promoted by the UK Government as part of its so-called levelling-up agenda.

The Port of Dundee is expected to be one of the bidders when applications open in the spring - while Ayr harbour has also been touted.

SNP ministers previously claimed Westminster risked undermining devolution if they set up the freeports in Scotland or Wales without the backing of devolved governments.They later backtracked and said they would pursue an alternative model - which is claimed offers greater protections to workers.But in the first major split between the SNP and the Greens since the parties signed a Holyrood powersharing deal last year, the environmentalists slammed the decision.Ross Greer MSP said: "The Greens will have nothing to do with this corporate give away."A little greenwashing won’t change the grim reality of these ‘freeports’."They are yet another way of handing tax breaks and public money to rich corporations, despite no evidence that it will create real economic prosperity.”Economy secretary Kate Forbes is a supporter of the freeports plan and claimed the SNP had won concessions from Westminster over how they would operate in Scotland.She insisted there were four