THE CHANCELLOR caused a stooshie yesterday after he froze duty on whisky, and claimed it was the Scottish Tories who persuaded him not to hike the tax.

That prompted a bemused reaction from other Scottish MPs and MSPs who have spent months arguing against the rise. “Positive that Chancellor has agreed to freeze duty on Scotch but perhaps a bit poor form to suggest it was only Scottish Tories who lobbied for this,” the SNP’s David Linden tweeted.

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Announcing the freeze, Hammond said he was acting “in response to the concerted lobbying of my Scottish Conservative colleagues”.

He told MPs that the freeze on duty on spirits, would mean they could “all afford to raise a wee dram to Ruth Davidson on the arrival of baby Finn”.

The industry welcomed the measure.

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It means the duty rate on spirits remains at £28.74 per litre of pure alcohol. That, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) says, means of the £14.15 average price of a bottle of Scotch, £10.41 is collected in taxation through excise duty and VAT.

Karen Betts, SWA chief executive, said the Chancellor had “made the right decision for the public finances, the industry and for consumers”.

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She added: “We have welcomed the support shown to the industry by the politicians from across the UK and the political spectrum who have backed our campaign and have stood up for the industry and the communities it supports.”

But Betts added there needed to be changes made to how alcohol is taxed.

“The Scotch Super Tax remains, with £3 in every £4 spent on the average priced bottle of Scotch in the UK still collected in taxation, and a significant disparity between what consumers pay in tax on Scotch and other alcoholic products.

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“HM Treasury should move quickly to begin detailed discussions with the industry about long-term reform of the UK’s alcohol tax regime.”

Hammond also announced duty freezes on beer and cider, but said the wine would rise with inflation.

Diageo’s Charles Ireland said they were delighted “to have a Chancellor who wants to help drinkers”.