A FLAGSHIP scheme to support new parents in Scotland faces controversy after its Finnish originators suggested there was no evidence it reduced infant mortality.

At First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon faced a grilling over the “baby box” scheme. The Guardian had reported that cot death expert Dr Peter Blair had raised concerns about their safety.

New mums are given a cardboard box containing essential items for newborns. The boxes are also promoted as a safe place in which infants can sleep.

Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said "deeply concerning" information had emerged about safety risks posed by the boxes. He called for all documentation about the safety of the boxes to be published.

Ms Sturgeon hit back, saying: “I just wonder, what is it about the baby box that so offends the Conservatives?

“Is it just because it is SNP policy or is it because it's giving state support to families when the Tory preference is always to take that away from families?”

The scheme was inspired by a long-running programme in Finland.

When Ms Sturgeon announced the launch of the Scottish scheme in 2016, she said it had been “proven to have a real impact, reducing child mortality and helping families at the start of a child’s life.”

But the Finnish agency behind the original programme told the Guardian that it had never claimed that the scheme reduced cot deaths.

At a briefing following FMQs, Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman was challenged to provide the evidence Ms Sturgeon referred to two years ago.

The spokesman declined, saying criticism of the scheme was “frankly ludicrous, utterly ludicrous.”

However, asked if the Scottish government’s current position was that the boxes had reduced infant mortality, the spokesman said he didn’t think “we’ve specifically made that claim” since the boxes were introduced.