Judges have upheld the Scottish Government’s plans for minimum alcohol pricing.

In a ruling at the Court of Session on Friday, Lord Carloway supported the previous decision of the court to raise the minimum price for a unit of alcohol to 50p in Scotland.

He said the basis of the appeal by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) was “not well founded.”

The Scottish Government believes the new pricing will tackle Scotland’s “unhealthy relationship with drink” but the SWA argued it would breach European law.

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The trade body claims it will damage the industry and will be ineffective at tackling alcohol misuse.

MSPs backed the move at Holyrood in 2012 but implementation stalled after the SWA and other European wine and spirits producers launched their legal challenge.

Judge Lord Doherty initially rejected the challenge at the Court of Session in 2013 but it was referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the following year after an appeal hearing.

Last December, an ECJ ruling said the plan would breach European Union law if alternative tax measures could be introduced.

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The court concluded a tax rise on alcoholic drinks “is liable to be less restrictive of trade” than minimum pricing.

The ECJ said it would be for the Court of Session to make a final decision after determining whether or not any alternative measure could equal the stated public health benefit while being less restrictive of trade.

While the latest ruling has gone in the Scottish Government’s favour, the policy could still be challenged at the UK’s Supreme Court.

However the SWA said it would consult with its members before any further appeal.

David Frost, chief executive of the SWA, said: “We regret the Court of Session’s ruling in favour of the Scottish Government on minimum unit pricing (MUP). We continue to believe that MUP is a restriction on trade and that there are more effective ways of tackling alcohol misuse.

“However, we of course remain committed to working with all partners to address this problem so that the long-term trend of declining alcohol-related harm in Scotland continues.

“We will study the details of the judgement and consult our members before deciding on next steps, including any possible appeal to the UK Supreme Court.”

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Public health minister Eileen Campbell welcomed the decision, saying: “This policy was passed by the Scottish Parliament unopposed more than four years ago.

“In that time, the democratic will of our national parliament has been thwarted by this ongoing legal challenge, while many people in Scotland have continued to die from the effects of alcohol misuse.

“Today’s ruling is a landmark one, and should mark the end of the legal process, allowing this important policy to finally be brought forward.”

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), a group of doctors and health professionals who have campaigned in favour of the policy for a decade, also welcomed the ruling.

Dr Peter Rice, SHAAP chair, said: “We are satisfied that the Scottish courts have concluded that MUP is legal, as we have argued for many years, and we now call for it to be implemented without delay.

“During the years when the SWA and its backers have prevented implementation, front line staff have seen hundreds of deaths and thousands of lives damaged.

“Much of this harm would have been avoided if MUP had been in place. We now call for the SWA to step aside and allow this life saving measure to go ahead.”