ACCLAIMED Scottish scriptwriter Paul Laverty has called on the Scottish Government to speak out against alleged human rights abuses in Nicaragua.

The writer of the of the the Palme d'Or-winning film I, Daniel Blake, said it should use its influence as a "progressive" government on the international stage.

Nicaragua’s president Daniel Ortega has withdrawn changes to the social security system that triggered deadly protests and looting.

However, the move failed to quell the protests, in which more than 40 people have been killed, according to human rights groups.

Laverty penned the award-winning 1996 film Carla's Song that was directed by Ken Loach and which is set against the backdrop of the left wing Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua in the 1980s.

The film follows the relationship between a Scottish bus driver, George Lennox, played by Robert Carlyle, and Carla (Oyanka Cabezas), a Nicaraguan refugee living in Glasgow.

However, Laverty said that Ortega's ruling regime has become dictatorial.

Laverty, who was previously a medical aid worker in Nicaragua, said the Scottish Government should condemn the violence that led to the 40 recent deaths.

Speaking to the Sunday Herald, he said: "It is heartbreaking for many of us who worked in Nicaragua during the 80s to learn of the deaths of so many youngsters.

"There has been a long connection between Scotland and Nicaragua.

"The organisation I worked with, Scottish Medical Aid to Nicaragua, sent nurses and doctors there. The trade union movement, Scottish churches and many other grassroots organisers also provided much solidarity to the country following the Sandinista revolution, which was brutally attacked by the US despite free and fair elections in 1984.

"One aberration has lead to another and we now see the most painful tragedy played out, as "Daniel Ortega, president once again, along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, now vice president, become more and more dictatorial.

"They have crushed the dissenting voices within the Sandinistas of old, and hollowed out the democratic content of other state institutions.

"It smells like another dynasty.

"I have no doubt that the US and other right wing elements are taking advantage, but that is a distraction.

"The blame lies with the leadership and I hope the Scottish Government will recognise this, condemn their violence, and support all those in the international community who are supporting calls for immediate dialogue, and a truly independent truth commission, not a bogus one set up under their control."

In response, a Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government will always seek to champion human rights and condemns abuses of those rights – wherever they occur in the world.”