A POWERFUL last-ditch plea has been made to Scotland’s MSPs to support the abolition of the “unfair and inequitable” tolls on the Forth and Tay road bridges.

The National Association Against Tolls (NAAT) Scotland has contacted them ahead of today’s Holyrood debate on the hated charge and last night claimed that a toll-free Scotland would boost tourism and increase the number of businesses relocating here.

Spokesman John McGoldrick said, “It is unfair and inequitable that the people of Fife and Tayside should pay a toll tax that applies nowhere else in Scotland. Toll collection delays traffic, causing frustration and increasing vehicle emissions.

“Gordon Brown currently receives one billion pounds every week from drivers. Very little (one seventh) of that is spent on the roads and there is no justification for an extra charge to pay for a particular road or river crossing, particularly as under the original legislation the Forth tolls were to stop by May 1995.”

Mr McGoldrick continued, “A year ago, the Executive published information claiming that if the tolls were removed then congestion would increase on both bridges.

“In our view that was a nonsense, as it seemed to be based on ‘models’ which assumed that effect if the tolls were removed. The Executive claim was greeted with astonishment by those familiar with the toll queues on the Tay road bridge.

“When this issue was debated last March, the Executive said there would be fresh consultation and a ‘study,’ he continued.

“That consultation ended on the August 17 and the results were to be published shortly after. We have made requests for the results but they have still not been published. We have no doubts that the responses will have overwhelmingly called for both tolls to be removed.

“The draft study report was supposed to be ready in December, but again nothing has been published, though it is likely that the study will say that the tolls should be kept. It would be surprising if it said anything else—the London-based consultants have acted as advisers to organisations that want permission to increase tolls.”

Referring to any new crossing of the Forth, the NAAT Scotland spokesman said it would be a non-starter if is privately financed and tolled.

“Such crossings involve a lot of extra costs (an army of bankers and advisers, as well as toll plazas), and are more expensive to finance.”