THE SNP Government has been accused of “a shocking lack of financial prudence” for pressing ahead with a controversial police merger without a full cost analysis.

Labour MSP Mary Fee levelled the charge at Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions.

Ms Fee criticised the SNP’s plan for Police Scotland to take over the role and around 200 staff of the British Transport Police (BTP) from 2019.

The BTP is fiercely opposed to the move as are rail unions who fear it could weaken safety standards and jeopardise staff and passengers.

The TSSA transport union handed an 11,500-signature petition to ministers this week.

A recent leaked report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) also described the merger as an “entirely” political decision.

Ms Fee said papers released this week by the joint programme board overseeing the merger showed there was still no definitive information on the cost of the merger.

She said: “Does the First Minister agree that progressing the merger of the BTP and Police Scotland without doing a full cost analysis in the first instance demonstrates a shocking lack of financial prudence on the part of the Scottish Government?”

Disagreeing, Ms Sturgeon replied: “The merger of the British Transport Police, which has now been devolved to the Scottish Government - something that Labour supported in the context of the Smith commission - is being taken forward for three main reasons: to improve accountability; to ensure that the transport police have access to Police Scotland’s wider range of resources; and to future proof the transport police’s future governance."

She said the Tories had proposed absorbing BTP into "a bigger infrastructure police force" and if ministers did nothing BTP in Scotland would be "isolated" within it.

She added: "We will take forward the proposals sensibly and responsibly... and we will continue to work with those employed in the British Transport Police to ensure that we take account of all their concerns as we go forward."