Scotland's public spending watchdog has heavily criticised South Lanarkshire Council following a £500,000 pay-off to a finance chief who presided over costly errors.

Linda Hardie was earning £127,000 a year as South Lanarkshire's director of finance and information technology, but while she was in the role the council overestimated the amount of budget cuts the council needed by £38m and lost around £100,000 in a bank details scam and in 2010 .