// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
McGill's accuse Swinney of behaving like dictator over bus plans
Sandy Easdale, Ralph Roberts and James Easdale pictured with one of their buses
A major bus firm has accused First Minister John Swinney of behaving like a dictator over his government's plans to bring buses under public control.
Sandy Easdale, who owns McGill's alongside his brother James, said Swinney "appears to have transformed into the next Idi Amin or Robert Mugabe".
"Both men, incidentally, who bankrupted their countries through catastrophic financial policies," he added.
Jenny Gilruth, Swinney's deputy, said her government was "protecting" the public, who had faced a series of route closures in recent years.
Speaking at the SNP conference in Aberdeen on Saturday, the first minister said buses would be brought under public control by 2031 through franchising and regulation, with a Bill tabled in Holyrood next year.
The changes, it is understood, will allow regional transport partnerships to have more control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the government having to actively own it.
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Ralph Roberts, chairman of McGill's, told BBC Scotland's Sunday Show that the Easdales had invested in local services.