Feelings about Diageo are running high in Kilmarnock, the Ayrshire town that stands to lose 700 jobs through the closure of a packaging plant for Johnnie Walker, the world’s best-selling premium whisky.

“Diageo are the biggest bunch of rogues under the sun,” said 72-year-old Wyllie Brown, who worked for Johnnie Walker for 44 years – the first 30 years as a cooper, the rest in the redbrick plant that stands high above the town. “It’s just pure and utter greed. The closure will mean desolation for Kilmarnock – it’s an absolute disgrace.”