THE Scottish Government is set to intervene in the row over Westminster's "money grab".

When the Crown Estate was devolved in the Scotland Act of 2016, its London headquarters kept 50% of the Fort Kinnaird retail park in Edinburgh.

READ MORE: Money Grab: This is how Scotland was ‘conned’ out of £167m by UK in retail park sale

That share has since been sold to M&G Real Estate for £167 million, with none of the money going to Scotland.

Now, Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham has said the Scottish Government “will explore whether some or all of this capital can be reinvested in the Scottish Crown Estate".

The income of the Crown Estate increased by more than the entire value of Crown Estate Scotland's holdings in the last year – with a tenanted farm in Fochabers, Moray, being sold in an attempt to raise revenue.

The sale of Fort Kinnaird represents 60% of the value of all crown assets in Scotland.

SNP MSP Richard Lochhead, who has led calls for Scotland to receive its share of the cash, said: "There should be no question where the £167m revenue from the sale of this land in Edinburgh belongs, and I am glad the Scottish Government is taking this to the Tory Government.

"Scotland’s Crown Estate should not be having to sell off assets to make ends meet while the Tories pocket millions of pounds from the sale of Fort Kinnaird Retail Park in Edinburgh, the most lucrative site in Scotland.

"It is now abundantly clear why, two years ago, Tory ministers refused Scottish Government requests to devolve this site to the new Crown Estate Scotland.

"This is nothing short of asset stripping and the Tory government needs to play fair and give Scotland the £167 million it is owed.

"This money would be transformational in helping Crown Estate Scotland support our communities, particularly in the more rural and coastal areas of Scotland."

In a statement to The National previously, the Crown Estate said that both Holyrood and the UK Parliament in the Scotland Act 2016 “agreed that assets held in joint venture structures, rather than by the Crown Estate alone, were not included in the transfer to Scottish minister”.

However, MSPs had been demanding the Fort Kinnaird investment be part of the devolved package – the UK refused, and UK Treasury ministers ignored requests to come to Holyrood to discuss the issue.