NICOLA Sturgeon will today (Tues) put tackling inequality at the heart of the Scottish Government's latest economic strategy.

The First Minister will highlight a report from the OECD saying the rising gulf between rich and poor has hindered the UK's growth potential.

A new analysis by the Scottish Government claims UK GDP would have been £100billion higher by 2010 as a result.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Our Economic Strategy will set out a long term vision based on one fundamental principal: by becoming a fairer society, we will also become a more productive and more prosperous society.

"We want to see economic growth that is inclusive, innovative and fairly distributed.

"For too long, our economy has been held back by rising inequality as a result of successive generations of Westminster economic policy."

Ms Sturgeon has set out long term plans to close the attainment gap in schools and ensure women have access to top level jobs.

She added: "I have been clear that a key priority for this Government is to tackle the blight of inequality, which serves as a destructive social and economic spiral.

She said the UK Government's austerity measures had compounded its failure to tackle inequality."

Ms Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney will launch the government's economic strategy during a visit to a telecoms company in West Lothian.