First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has asked party whips to investigate travel and living arrangements made by one of her MPs, Kenny MacAskill.
Mr MacAskill has been living in Banffshire, 170 miles away from his East Lothian constituency, since Christmas, despite pleading with constituents to stay put during lockdown.
Since lockdown came into effect on December 26, Mr MacAskill has travelled to East Lothian a number of times.
Ms Sturgeon said she would be seeking further information regarding Mr MacAskill’s actions and said all politicians had a role to play in the fight against the pandemic.
First Minister seeks further details
During Wednesday’s briefing, Ms Sturgeon also called into question the necessity of a trip to the central belt planned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday.
She said: “I am loosely aware of the (Kenny MacAskill) story, I don’t know all the details but I have asked the whips of the House of Commons Westminster group to provide me with details.
“Mr Macaskill has given an account of his travel, but I obviously want to understand the detail of that.
“I am not able to get into any more specifics around that, but what I will say and this applies to my travel and Boris Johnson’s travel, is none of us is exempt.
“Practical considerations of the jobs all of us do will lead to different situations in terms of where we travel to and what extent we are out of our homes, but we are all subject to these rules.
“We have to make sure, by all our particular circumstances, we are abiding by these rules.
“That’s true of me, Boris Johnson, Kenny MacAskill and anyone else.
“The one thing that infuriates people, and I had it myself before Christmas when I had the very momentary lapse of not wearing a face covering at a funeral, is the thinking there is one rule for the majority and another for those in positions of authority.
“That is not the case and should not be the case. These rules apply to us as well.
“That is a comment I will continue to make and I don’t care if it upsets Boris Johnson or whoever, it has to be what we are all absolutely intent on being the case right now.”
Since Christmas
Mr MacAskill told the East Lothian Courier, of which he is a contributor to, he had moved into the Moray property at Christmas with his wife, after his daughter had returned from university. This was before the lockdown period started on December 26.
He said: “At Christmas, my daughter was returning from Aberdeen University to what is her home and, before lockdown, I travelled north so my wife and I could spend Christmas with her.
“Continued lockdown has seen me require to remain there, other than on two occasions when I’ve returned for medical-related appointments.
“On each occasion I followed the rules and guidance.
“I look forward to the lifting of restrictions when I’ll be able to return to reside in Dunbar.”
Calls for investigation
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary and North East Scotland MSP Liam Kerr said: “The SNP have been quick to defend Kenny MacAskill but people deserve a full explanation.
“They need to conduct a thorough investigation to establish the full circumstances.
“As an MP and a former justice secretary, Mr MacAskill should know better than most about the challenges faced by our police officers during the pandemic.”