FIRST Minister Jack McConnell is promising to move more government jobs out of Edinburgh if Labour is returned to power in May.
A Labour newsletter circulated in the Highlands and Islands boasts of the party's record of transferring civil service and quango posts out of the Capital.
And it quotes Mr McConnell promising: "We plan more".
But today a spokesman for the Fi
rst Minister said he was not aware of any imminent relocation plans to give the Highlands more jobs, prompting accusations Labour was saying one thing in the Highlands and another in Edinburgh.
The newsletter, Highlands & Islands Labour Rose, has a panel on the front, headed: "When Labour is in power, it delivers", with a list of achievements ranging from "a buoyant economy" to "the smoking ban", and including: "Government jobs relocated out of Edinburgh".
It adds: "These are Labour priorities being delivered here and now in Scotland."
And inside, the newsletter quotes Mr McConnell saying: "We have brought well-paid, stable government jobs to Kinlochleven, Campbeltown, Tain, Dingwall, Tiree and Inverness and we plan more."
Around 2500 jobs have been switched out of Edinburgh since the relocation policy was introduced in 1999, more than half of them to Glasgow.
The promise of more government jobs for the Highlands is particularly sensitive in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections. It was in March 2003 - just weeks before the last elections - that ministers announced the decision to relocate Scottish Natural Heritage headquarters from Edinburgh to Inverness.
The decision was taken despite strong opposition from staff, unions and the quango's own board. Inverness had been ranked last on a shortlist of five locations drawn up by consultants.
Opposition politicians claimed the move was politically motivated - designed to help Labour win the Inverness seat from the Scottish Nationalists. In the event, Labour failed to win the seat, and also lost the Edinburgh South seat, where SNH had some of its offices. Only 55 staff out of the 270-strong workforce opted to relocate, with 109 taking redundancy.
Earlier this month, the parliament's cross-party audit committee produced a highly-critical report on the operation of the Scottish Executive's relocation policy, branding the SNH decision "not value for money" and not justified by the arguments.
A spokesman for the First Minister said he was not aware of any imminent decision or announcement about further relocations.
But he defended the newsletter. "All that promise is saying is that the relocation policy will continue. It is not a target to move more jobs to the Highlands."
Lothians SNP MSP Kenny MacAskill said: "This is the same lot who just before the last election did Edinburgh over with SNH. Here they are, before the 2007 election, campaigning for more jobs to be relocated out of Edinburgh. How many jobs must go before Labour stops picking on Edinburgh?"
Mr MacAskill said the comments from the First Minister's spokesman smacked of Labour double-dealing. He said: "They are bragging about relocating jobs in the north, but denying it here. It shows they cannot be trusted."
Apart from SNH, most of the relocations to the Highlands have been small-scale. Dispersal of jobs in the Crown Office transcription unit meant six jobs for Dingwall and four each for Tain and Campbeltown, while relocation of the Crofting House Grants Scheme gave eight jobs to Tiree and moving the central inquiry unit to Kinlochleven created nine jobs.
