SNP ministers have been severely criticised after it was revealed that millions of pounds have been wasted on unsuccessful mitigation measures at the Rest and Be Thankful on the A83 trunk road in Argyll and Bute.

The scale of spending – nearly £3m over five years - was revealed in a response to a Freedom of Information request from the Scottish Conservatives.

The Scottish Conservative candidate for Argyll and Bute, Donald Cameron, a long-time campaigner on the issue, said:

“Local residents and businesses will be scandalised at the amount of taxpayers’ money that has been squandered by the SNP on their ‘patch and mend’ approach to this vital trunk road.

“For fourteen long years, SNP ministers have refused to take this problem seriously, despite multiple road closures caused by landslips.

“All this time, jobs and investment in Argyll and Bute have gone begging, due to the chronic unreliability of the road.

“Even now, when the evidence of their failed approach is overwhelming, the SNP have yet to provide a firm date for fixing this problem.

“Unfortunately, the Rest and Be Thankful is not an isolated example of the SNP failing to deliver for local people, as anyone who has followed the disastrous ferry procurement saga will understand only too well.

“Frankly, until we see our area given the same political priority as the Central Belt, I very much fear that we will be facing these problems for many years to come.”