Labour is today calling on SNP candidate Cllr Mason to clarify remarks he has made about police numbers, after he appeard to claim, wrongly, that the SNP had put extra police on the street.

Under pressure on a special Newsnight Scotland debate, Cllr Mason said that since the SNP government came into office, 1,000 extra police had been put onto the streets. In fact, police numbers in Glasgow and the East End have gone down under the SNP.  Across Strathclyde there are 200 fewer police officers than there were one year ago.

Labour's Scotland Office Minister David Cairns MP said:

"The SNP are happy to put police on their leaflets but not on our streets.

"Councillor Mason claimed there are 1,000 extra police officers but this is just plain wrong.

"Either he doesn't know his facts or he is deliberately trying to mislead the people of the East End. Either way, Councillor Mason must clarify his comments as a matter if some urgency."