Killings in Scotland were up by more than a quarter last year, according to official statistics.

Nearly two-thirds were in the Strathclyde Police area. Almost half were with blades, almost half were carried out by people who were drunk or on drugs. Only around a quarter saw the victims being killed by strangers, with nearly as many killers being relatives or partners of the victims.

While the Justice Secretary said the figures were "depressingly familiar", opposition leaders branded them "appalling" and argued the Scottish Government's decision to scale down its planned expansion of police numbers would not help stem the rise in homicides.

The figures, published yesterday, revealed there were 118 deaths classified by police and courts as homicides in Scotland in 2006-07. That includes 86 murders and 32 which courts and police are classifying as culpable homicide. The total is up by 24 on the previous year.

The 118 cases involved 119 victims, meaning there was one double killing last year, with 27% more victims than last year.

Most victims (84%) were male - nearly six times the rate for females.

So far, 45 (27%) of the 167 accused in homicide cases had a charge of murder proved as at November 19 this year. A further 28 (17%) have had a charge of culpable homicide proved.

The 167 accused is 19% up on 2005/06, with 92% of those accused male.

One of the murder victims was former boxing champion Alexander McKinnon, who was shot with a sawn-off shotgun as he socialised in the Marmion bar in the Gracemount area of Edinburgh in April 2006. James Bain, Richard Cosgrove and Bernard Young were all found guilty of the double shooting, which almost claimed the life of the victim's brother-in-law, James Hendry.

The most common method of killing in each of the past 10 years has been with a sharp instrument. This was used in the homicide of 54 victims (45%) in 2006/07.

The next most common method of killing for males was hitting and kicking (15%), followed by use of a blunt instrument and poisoning (both 11%).

The main accused was known to most victims either as an acquaintance (51%), a relative (13%) or a partner (9%). Nearly half (47%) of the total of 167 persons accused in homicide cases in 2006-07 were reported to have been drunk or under the influence of drugs at the time. Of these, 30% were drunk, 8% were on drugs and 9% were both drunk and on drugs.

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, said: "These depressingly familiar statistics show the long-term challenge we face. The overall approach to tackling violence which was initiated under the last administration was the right one - tough enforcement initiatives on knives, on alcohol-fuelled violence and on gangs backed by a long-term approach to educate and shift attitudes among young people. We intend to build on that".

Action is also being taken to tackle Scotland's drinking culture, while efforts are ongoing to tackle knife crime, he added.

Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said: "These figures are appalling. We need more police officers, a faster court system, tighter bail laws and an end to the ridiculous, discredited system of automatic early release".

He said the fact that 30% of those accused of homicide were drunk at the time was a "damning indictment" of the previous Labour-LibDem regime.

He added: "I hope this sends a clear message to the new SNP government - emptying our prisons, breaking police recruitment pledges and turning early release into even earlier release is not going to make things better. One thing is for certain; we cannot allow the present trend to continue".

The figures were also branded "very disturbing" by LibDem justice spokeswoman Margaret Smith.