LOCAL politicians have united to condemn the closure of Peebles Sheriff Court after we reported on the last cases to be called.

Peebles Sheriff Court closed last week, following a cost-cutting review by the Scottish Court Service, with business now being taken in Selkirk.

Tweeddale MP David Mundell (Conservative) said: "The empty Peebles Sheriff Court will be a monument to the Scottish Government's failure to listen to local people and their centralising agenda.

"Local justice should be delivered locally. There is no evidence the switch to Selkirk will a save penny, yet it will inconvenience everyone who might need to attend or use Peebles Sheriff Court. It's a lose-lose situation and the Scottish Government should hang their heads in shame."

Jim Hume, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for South Scotland agreed. And he has called for the closure of Peebles to be reversed after figures show that people in communities elsewhere in Scotland where courts have already closed are receiving a worse service with delays in processing cases.

Mr Hume said: “The evidence Scottish Liberal Democrats have obtained shows that communities across Scotland are receiving a poorer service as a direct result of the widespread court closure programme backed by the SNP government.

“Solicitors, victims, witnesses, jurors and police officers are all having to travel further to get to court. And these statistics show that the length of time it is taking to deal with their cases is rising and the 26-week target is missed more often.

“Recent court reform legislation means these courts will soon deal with more civil work, but these statistics suggest they are already under intense pressure with many running close to capacity. The Justice Committee also received evidence that this is being accompanied by cuts to staff budgets, rising numbers of court cases, and an increase in the number of serious and complex cases.

“With Duns and Peebles set to be closed this month, these new statistics should convince the Scottish Government and Court Service to review the impact of the closures so far and halt these further planned closures.”