Call to remove cap on seized criminal assets for Scotland

LOTHIANS Labour MSP George Foulkes is calling on the UK Government to remove the cap on how much money Scotland can keep from the seized assets of convicted criminals.

Under the current rules, anything over 30 million goes to the Treasury.

But Lord Foulkes has written to Chancellor George Osborne and Home Secretary Theresa May, arguing Scotland should be able to keep all the cash.

He said: "The cap should be lifted so that more money can be put back into our communities thus helping to better society. Crooks bring misery to communities throughout Scotland and it is only fair that all their assets are put back into these communities.

"The police force will have an added incentive to catch criminals with the knowledge that, not only will their hard work see crooks put behind bars, the assets seized from these criminals will go to a good cause.

"We are at war with criminals and, in any war, it is important to give the troops as much motivation as possible."