John Swinney: SNP could not afford to undo spending cuts

John Swinney says the Scottish government cannot afford to reverse all of the public spending cuts implemented by the Conservative government in Westminster.

The deputy first minister was asked if Holyrood would undo the cuts which have been proposed by the UK government as part of its austerity measures.

Speaking ahead of the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Mr Swinney said it was "highly unlikely" that Holyrood could find the £6bn needed, by his calculations, to pay for the tax and benefit changes.