The Scottish Law Agents Society have accused the Office of Fair Trading of dismissing Scots Law and failing to support their case in an open letter which responds to a letter sent to the Scottish Parliament by the OFT, which claimed external ownership of law firms could benefit the poor.

The letter accuses the OFT of being "outrageous and unprofessional," and add that the OFT letter "contains mere assertion and once more has no evidence base whatsoever a fact which MSPs have already spotted and have unfavourably commented upon."

"There is no evidence this will help the poor," they add.

"The OFT named specific companies in its correspondence with the Scottish Parliament and has been forced to clarify its position. How embarrassing that it required to do so. Naming these companies is quite simply unacceptable, unprofessional and outrageous. The OFT is supposed to be impartial but they have acted otherwise. It would be quite simple to have referred to “supermarkets” and “Banks,

"Unfortunately the OFT appears to be obsessed with competition theory and seems divorced from reality. It is time they were taken to task and MSPs have a golden opportunity to do so."

The letter can be read in full here.