SCOTLAND'S Chief Medical Officer will no longer take part in media briefings about coronavirus after breaching lockdown rules by travelling to her second home in Fife. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Dr Catherine Calderwood would still be providing the Scottish Government with medical advice on coronavirus. 

She added: “I am acutely aware of  the importance of public trust in the advice the government is giving to stay at home in order to save lives and protect our NHS.  To maintain that trust we will be revising our public information campaign and the Chief Medical Officer will be withdrawing from media briefings for the foreseeable future.

"She will continue to provide the Scottish Government with the scientific and medical advice on the spread of Coronavirus."

Sturgeon previously said she does not condone anyone breaking the guidance on preventing the spread of the virus, but added it would be “damaging not to have the ongoing advice and expertise” of Dr Catherine Calderwood as chief medical officer.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says it would be 'damaging' to fire Catherine Calderwood

Dr Calderwood apologised after photos of herself and her family near a coastal retreat in Earlsferry were published in The Scottish Sun on Saturday.

Just days earlier, the 51-year-old tweeted a photo of her family at their main residence in Edinburgh as they clapped for the front-line NHS staff working to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Sturgeon said she did not know about Dr Calderwood’s visits to her second home until Sunday night.

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