John Swinney 'like Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe' in his bid to nationalise buses

Bus operators have threatened legal action against plans to bring services into public control, as they accused John Swinney of acting like dictators Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe. The First Minister announced in his speech to the SNP 's conference yesterday that buses would be brought under public control by 2031 through franchising and regulation, with a Bill to be tabled in Holyrood next year. But he came under fire for announcing the move without any dialogue with the industry – and senior figures at the operator McGill's have threatened to 'go to every court in the land' to block the move, which they described as 'business confiscation'. Sandy Easdale, who owns McGill's alongside his brother James, also accused Mr Swinney of acting like Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe. But Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth further stoked the war of words by dismissing the concerns and highlighting that the Easdales are Labour donors as she claimed ministers are 'trying to protect our people'. Mr Easdale said: 'What has come over mild-mannered John Swinney? He appears to have transformed into the next Idi Amin or Robert Mugabe, both men, incidentally, who bankrupted their countries through catastrophic financial policies.' First Minister John Swinney said buses in Scotland would be brought under public control by 2031 John Swinney has been compared to Ugandan dictator General Idi Amin after the First Minister said buses in Scotland would ne brought under state control Ralph Roberts, chairman of McGill's Group, said the proposal amounted to 'business confiscation' and condemned the 'complete lack of dialogue'. He claimed his firm would be unable to trade unless it wins a franchise. Asked on BBC Radio Scotland if there is likely to be legal action, he said: 'One hundred per cent. The owners feel they are incensed by this. There's been no dialogue with government at all in any of this and that is one of the things that makes this so incendiary. 'If there had been dialogue about what the process was, and what the outcome was going to be, then we would maybe be saying let us help you facilitate this. 'But the fact remains that if a multinational comes in and underbids us in the areas where we operate and we end up having to cease trading and walk away, with all of the investment and everything we've done stored up in the value of the business, with nothing then you can understand why the owners are saying they will absolutely go to every court in the land and beyond – they will go to the European court in Luxembourg as well.' He warned that in the Strathclyde area alone the introduction of franchising for bus services could cost close to £400million a year. It is understood the changes will allow regional transport partnerships to have more control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the government having to actively own it. Asked about the criticism during an appearance on the BBC's The Sunday Show, Ms Gilruth said: 'Well, of course the Easdale brothers I think are significant donors to the Labour Party, it'd be remiss of me not to mention that point. 'Fundamentally, we're trying to protect our people, and across the country just now we see a number of routes having been removed.' She said the Scottish Government is already providing significant investment in buses, including free travel for under 22s and over 60s, and said: 'We know that there is more we can do to help protect bus routes, that is exactly what this legislation is going to do. 'We only need to look at the approach that's used, for example, in the city of Edinburgh to see how public ownership really can help to benefit the public in terms of the number of routes that are available.'