Alex Salmond pilots Cabinet over the sea to Bute

SCOTTISH ministers arrived in Bute yesterday ahead of the latest Cabinet meeting to be held outside Edinburgh.

First Minister Alex Salmond will today chair the penultimate meeting of the summer programme, which has seen ministers travel to Stirling and Dornoch and will conclude in Kilmarnock on 7 September.

Today's meeting will be followed by a public discussion in Rothesay Pavilion and was preceded by a reception last night to celebrate Scotland's Year of Food and Drink featuring local producers.

Mr Salmond said: "Taking the Cabinet out of Edinburgh provides us with a greater opportunity to meet many individuals and organisations from the local communities and listen to their views on a range of issues."

This is the third year Cabinet meetings have been taken to other parts of the country, with previous meetings held in Dundee, Stornoway and Pitlochry.