SCOTLAND’S four richest families are wealthier than the poorest 20 per cent of the population, a new Oxfam report showed yesterday.

The Grant-Gordon whisky family, Highland Spring water owner Mahdi al-Tajir, North Sea oil magnate Sir Ian Wood and former Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed have a combined wealth of over £6 billion, according the Sunday Times Rich List.

In contrast, the Oxfam report concluded that “nearly one in five people in Scotland lives with the daily reality
of poverty, with women hit hardest.”

It also revealed that Scotland’s 14 wealthiest families were better off than the poorest 30 per cent of people.

Oxfam Scotland head Jamie Livingstone called on the Scottish government to reduce inequality and poverty and urged all political parties to “outline clear and robust policies for achieving this goal” before next year’s Holyrood elections.

“We recognise that not all political power rests in Scotland, but where the Scottish Parliament has power it should act boldly and where it does not, it should be a strong and progressive advocate for change,” said Mr Livingstone.

General union Unite deputy Scottish secretary Mary Alexander welcomed Oxfam’s challenge.

She said that the Scottish trade union movement had played a major role in “urging the Scottish government and our Parliament to make better use of the powers they currently have to curb major barriers to equality.”

Labour MSP Neil Findlay branded Scotland’s wealth gap “a source of shame,” ­saying that the focus for ­everyone “must be on closing the gap between the richest and the rest” by investing in public services, schools and the NHS.