Abbot David Charlesworth of Buckfast Abbey has dismissed suggestions that Buckfast Tonic Wine is to be blamed for the rise in crime in Scotland by stating that the wine "is not made to be abused".

Abbot Charlesworth said, "We don't make a product for it to be abused. That's not the idea. We make a product that is a tonic wine. It annoys me to think that these problems, all the social deprivation of an area of Scotland, are being put on our doorstep."

Buckfast Abbey Tonic Wine is being blamed for almost 6,500 crime reports in Scotland in the previous three years, according to the information provided following a freedom of information request. The monastery, which has been brewing Buckfast for nearly 100 years, pointed out that it was fair that the tonic wine is being blamed for the crimes.

The company behind the Buckfast Tonic Wine has said that it will take legal action to stop the police adding its own anti-crime labels to bottles. Abbot Charlesworth has also said that they have tried to address the problem by employing a youth worker in an troubled area.