Alex Salmond has been accused of giving a homeless charity a kick in the teeth over its funding, just three months after he praised it. Labour leader Wendy Alexander has accused Mr Salmond of paying lip service to the charity.

Alex Salmond has been accused of giving a homeless charity a kick in the teeth over its funding, just three months after he praised it.

Almost 100 clients will be affected and more than 30 staff will lose their jobs if Aberdeen City Council's LibDem/SNP administration implements its planned £900,000 cut in funding to the Cyrenians charity.

Labour leader Wendy Alexander has accused Mr Salmond of paying lip service to the charity.

The Cyrenians, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, is meeting councillors today to make clear the impact if they do not withdraw or substantially reduce the cut.

Paul Hannan, the charity's chief executive, said: "The scale of these cuts means that three accommodation projects for a total of around 25 people will have to close. We just don't know where these people are going to go ... when homelessness is at an all time high in the city."

Wendy Alexander said: "In December the First Minister praised the work of the Cyrenians ... What a difference a few months make."

A council spokesman said: "We fully understand that people are being affected by many of the extremely diffi-cult decisions that were taken at the budget meeting in February and that people need explanations."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Councils have a huge amount of financial autonomy as a result of the removal of ring-fencing. This is designed to give local government the flexibility it needs to make the best decisions for their communities."