Scotland's chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood responds to pictures of her flouting lockdown rules

Pictures emerged on Sunday of Dr Catherine Calderwood visiting her second home with her family

Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood has said she is “truly sorry” after pictures emerged of her flouting her own lockdown guidance.

The images, published on Sunday by the Scottish Sun, show Dr Calderwood, 51, 44 miles away from her home in Edinburgh with other family members at their second home in Earlsferry, Fife.

She was spotted walking across a golf course with her husband and kids, appearing to flout the SNP’s lockdown rules this weekend.

Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood has said she is “truly sorry” after pictures emerged of her flouting her own lockdown guidance.

Dr Calderwood has now responded to the images, saying that while “there are reasons for what I did”, they “were not legitimate reasons to be out of my house.”

She said: “I wish to apologise unreservedly for the issue reported in the media today.

“While there are reasons for what I did, they do not justify it and they were not legitimate reasons to be out of my home. While I and my family followed the guidance on social distancing at all times, I understand that I did not follow the advice I am giving to others, and I am truly sorry for that.

“I know how important this advice is and I do not want my mistake to distract from that. I have a job to do as Chief Medical Officer to provide advice to Ministers on the path of this virus and to support the medical profession as they work night and day to save lives, and having spoken with the First Minister this morning I will continue to focus entirely on that job.”