Commenting after the Health Minister met with the distributors of Buckfast, Margaret Mitchell MSP, Scottish Conservative Justice spokesman, said:
“Until now, the Health Minister has concentrated on the symptoms of the problem, as opposed to the root cause, which lies closer to home with the failure of the Labour/Lib Dem coalition's policies to tackle underage drinking. The fact of the matter is that if Buckfast was banned tomorrow, some other drink would take its place.
“Andy Kerr’s failure to acknowledge this was either extremely naïve or an attempt to pert attention away from his own failed policies. It is clear that if the coalition concentrated on prosecuting those who sell drink to underage youths and ensured there were sufficient police on the beat to deter and detect underage drinking, then the problem would be substantially reduced.
“His approach is also counter-productive because, as far as I am aware, Buckfast does not advertise. However every time a Labour Minister singles it out, the drink is given free publicity which may well bestow cult status upon it. At a time when children as young as eight are seeking help in rehab for alcohol abuse, the Labour/Lib Dem Coalition should be emphasising that parents have responsibility for ensuring that these young children are properly supervised both within and outwith the home environment. Instead both coalition parties would appear to be fixated on playing the blame game with alcohol distributors and in so doing attempting to pass the buck.”