A new campaign to make large estates more accountable is a thinly disguised attack on landowners, according to the organisation that represents them.

Scottish Land & Estates was responding to the announcement by Land Action Scotland urging members of the public to join companies owned by absentee landlords.

Two estates owned by companies with charitable status have been the focus of the campaign – the Mount Stuart Trust based on Bute and the Applecross Trust, owner of the Applecross Peninsula.

Connie Lovel, chief executive of the Mount Stuart Trust, said the trust would carefully consider the new applications.