AN SNP minister has called on his own government to intervene to prevent Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) cuts.

Higher and further education minister Ben MacPherson has written to his community safety minister colleague Siobhan Brown, urging her to intervene over the threat to close the Marionville fire station in his Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

In the teeth of widespread local opposition, the closure plan was proposed as part of a Scotland-wide review, but Mr MacPherson warned it was “projected to add four to six minutes to response times.”

He told his colleague: “The FBU has stated that ‘in an emergency, four to six minutes is an eternity.’ I am concerned about risk to my constituents, and property, if wait times increase.”

FBU Scottish Secretary John McKenzie argued the £58 million in Scottish government cuts at the cost of 1,250 firefighters’ jobs since 2013 was “putting lives at risk.”

He said: “The plans for Marionville are another example of these cuts.

“Budget cuts overseen by politicians are driving these cuts, and they should collectively take responsibility.”

The Scottish government and SFRS were contacted for comment.