A leading Scottish Lawyer has criticised the head of the Scottish Consumer Council (SCC), after the body attacked the legal profession's opposition to the introduction of home reports in December.

Ian Ferguson of Glasgow firm Mitchells Roberton said he was "astonished" by the criticism from the SCC's chairman Douglas Sinclair, contained in a letter to all MSPs. In it he described arguments against the report as "spurious" and accused lawyers of being "not concerned with interest of consumers but with their own professional interests". Ferguson, a property lawyer, warned that the report could cause delay and said clients were shocked when they learned the cost of the procedure. And he added: "Mr Sinclair seems oblivious to the state of the present market and the highly damaging effects of introducing the scheme at this time."

Ian Ferguson is a Partner with Mitchells Roberton, Glasgow’s oldest firm of solicitors.