FORMER finance secretary Derek Mackay will not face charges over the barrage of "inappropirate" messages he sent to a 16-year-old boy.

Police Scotland consulted with the Crown Office before concluding that no laws had been broken in his interactions with the teen, according to a report in the Daily Record.

A source told the paper: “It was felt the trail of messages itself was ­inappropriate given the imbalance in power and the difference in age between the two parties.

“The messages were not highly ­sexualised and, in any case, the boy was 16 and of age. But consideration was given as to whether the messages could have caused fear and alarm or distress.

“Could there have been an aggravated breach of the peace or would some sort of sexual aggravation or grooming charge be justified? But all things considered, the consensus was that the threshold of criminality had not been reached.”

Despite calling the boy "cute", the teen claims he had not been troubled enough by the messages to make a formal complaint to the police, though they had made him feel uncomfortable.

A police spokesman said: “We have not received any complaint of criminality, however, we are currently assessing available information.”

Mackay resigned from his post as a minister on February 5.