Deputy First Minister Pledges to Remove Tolls By End of Year

Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace today vowed to abolish the controversial Skye Bridge tolls by the end of this year.

Mr Wallace was taking part in a debate on the economy of the Highlands and Islands, he said there were still challenges in the area, including improving transport infrastructure. Local MSP John Farquhar Munro used the debate to demand an end to "one of the main impediments to the economy of the Highlands and Islands" ... the "discredited toll regime" on the Skye Bridge.

Mr Wallace repeated a Labour/Lib Dem coalition partnership agreement to end the "discredited" tolling regime on the Skye Bridge but added that its abolition could be achieved within months.

He said: "