A flagship policy intended to prevent the sale of cheap drinks has cost Scottish people about £270m, a report has suggested.

The report titled The Hangover: The cost of minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland, for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has claimed that the policy has had little positive impact on employment, crime and health.

It also found the policy cost drinkers in Scotland on average £71.12 per head.

Introduced in 2018, minimum pricing had previously been justified based on computer modelling from a team at Sheffield University, the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model (SAPM).

The Scottish Government said that minimum pricing aimed to reduce alcohol-related harms, including death, crime and unemployment, by raising the price of the cheap, off-trade alcohol purchased in supermarkets and off-licences.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Politics Matters