SUPERMARKET-brand Scotch could be removed from the shelves by a policy of minimum pricing, leading to a "a strong and negative" impact on the whisky industry, according to one of the country's leading producers. Currently retailing for as little as £7, a bottle of whisky would cost more than £11 if a minimum price of 40p per unit was applied.

Whyte and Mackay, which makes budget whisky for supermarkets as well as its own brand, fears the own-brand products will be removed once minimum pricing is introduced, because consumers will decide it no longer represents good value for money. The 160-year-old Glasgow company said that, if introduced, the policy would have a "big impact" on its business, which employs more than 500 people in Scotland.

They can't all be Springbank.

WHISKY chiefs have made the extraordinary claim that the SNP's policy of minimum pricing on alcohol will cost the flagship Scottish industry a massive £600 million a year in lost export sales. As MSPs meet today to debate the controversial alcohol crackdown, the Scotch Whisky Association claimed that the plans would wipe out 20 per cent of the entire overseas market.

They claim that foreign countries are desperate to slap higher import tariffs on Scotch and will use Scotland's own minimum price policy to enact their own "copycat" measures. But SNP ministers last night denied the claims, and went on the offensive, calling on the drinks trade to come up with its own solution to Scotland's £2 billion-a-year drink problem.

Controversial legislation to bring in minimum-pricing for alcohol in Scotland will be blocked by MSPs. Although the SNP government believes the move is needed to tackle Scotland's problems with drink-fuelled violence, it does not have enough backing.

The Holyrood administration was hoping for the support of Labour, but it has confirmed it will line up with other parties against the plan. However, other key parts of the alcohol bill are likely to win approval.

A NEW minimum price for alcohol is likely to become law within a year, after the SNP vowed the measure would be the key priority of its second term in office. The newly re-elected Nationalist administration has confirmed the 45-pence-per-unit minimum-price measure will be in its first legislative programme after it was blocked in the last parliament by opposition parties.

Sources suggested the legislation would most likely come into force on 1 April next year. The measure was first proposed by the SNP in the last parliament in response to Scotland's problem drinking culture. The British Medical Association revealed earlier this month that alcohol was a factor in more than 5,500 GP consultations in Scotland on one day in April and medical leaders last night welcomed the SNP's pledge to revive the pricing policy.

The Scotch Whisky Association has warned that the Scottish Government's pland to introduce minimum pricing will hit the industry's export markets. The trade body, which represents the country's whisky producers, has called for a meeting with the new SNP government to discuss its concerns.

The SNP has said it will seek to introduce a minimum pricing bill as a priority in its first legislative programme. One of the party's manifesto pledges, the policy was blocked last year because of a lack of parliamentary support.

A minimum price for alcohol of 50p per unit is expected to be announced by the Scottish government later. The figure - which is 5p higher than initially announced - comes as a 40p price is planned for England and Wales. The Scottish Nationalists hope the measure will reduce the health problems caused by excessive drinking. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon is to make the announcement during a visit to the gastroenterology ward at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

It is hoped the move - which would make the ­cheapest bottle of wine £4.69, while a four-pack of lager would cost at least £3.52 - will lead to a reduction in hospital admissions and deaths through alcohol abuse. However, Ms Sturgeon has previously said that minimum pricing was not a "magic bullet" that would solve all of Scotland's problems with alcohol.

The Scottish Government today gained parliamentary backing for its policy of minimum pricing for alcohol.

• MSPs voted by 86 to one in favour of legislation with Labour abstaining
• Once implemented drinkers must pay at least 50p per unit of alcohol

Labour MSPs abstained in the vote after the party failed in a last-ditch attempt to claw back extra profits made by supermarkets.

Ms Sturgeon hailed the passing of the Alcohol Minimum Pricing Bill as a “landmark moment in Scotland’s fight against alcohol misuse”. She said: “I am delighted that Parliament has passed the Bill and minimum pricing will now become law.”