A SCOTTISH Labour MSP has been slammed over plans to host a boozy reception with banking giants in the Scottish Parliament.
Labour frontbencher Daniel Johnson will host an event which gives politicians the chance to rub shoulders with major players in the financial sector, including big beast lenders and credit card companies.
He has been criticised for bringing corporate giants “even closer to policy making”.
The Edinburgh Southern MSP will host a drinks reception in Holyrood on Tuesday with the Payments Association, an industry body which recently argued for banks and credit card companies to be let off the hook for fraud compensation.
The Payments Association represents some of the biggest names in the financial sector including three of the Big Four accountancy firms, major credit card companies like Mastercard and Visa, the international payments company Swift and banks such as Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, American Express, Barclays and Bank of America.
They also represent the Post Office and Fujitsu, which designed the faulty software which resulted in the wrongful convictions of subpostmasters.
Shortly after the election, the industry body demanded the payments regulator cut the amount banks would be liable for to reimburse victims of fraud.
The Payments Association argued that the Payment Systems Regulator should reduce the amount that banks would need to pay customers from £415,000 to £30,000 and that the changes should be delayed for a year from October, when they are planned to come into force.
They argued that big tech firms should help tackle payment fraud.
The Scottish Greens said the drinks reception was further evidence of Labour cosying up to fat cats.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves (above) last week continued her efforts from before the election to woo big businesses, pledging she would lead the most “pro-business Treasury in our history”.
Greens MSP Maggie Chapman (below) said: “The Labour Party have been far too close to big business for far too long, including a lot of the companies that are represented by the Payments Association.
“The last thing we need is for corporate giants like KPMG and the banks to be even closer to policy making.
“If we are to build an economy that works for people and planet then we urgently need to move away from the failed policies of the past and support the industries and communities who are working to build a fairer, greener and better future.”
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “This desperate attack is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.
“Financial services have an important role to play in Scotland’s economy and Scottish Labour will continue to engage with a range of organisations as we develop our plans to boost growth in Scotland.”
KPMG declined to comment. The Payments Association was approached for comment.
