Transport Minister Humza Yousaf apologises for driving without insurance

Humza Yousaf - Scottish Government

Scotland's Transport Minister has apologised after he was pulled over for driving without the correct car insurance cover.

Humza Yousaf was stopped by Police on Friday evening in control of a friend’s car, for which he was not eligible to drive.

On twitter the SNP MSP blamed a mix-up regarding his policy following the recent separation from his wife, adding that he had made a "genuine mistake in difficult personal times".

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He said: "I believed I was in possession of fully comprehensive insurance, not just for my own car, and as such that I was insured to drive vehicles other than my own.

"If I had had even the slightest doubt about my insurance I would not have driven the car.

"Unfortunately, on investigation, it appears that following the breakup of my marriage and transfer of ownership of our car I did not complete the process of taking over as the main policy holder, which would have enabled me to drive other vehicles - which my policy had previously enabled me to do.

"However, I remained insured to drive my own car at all times throughout."

Yousaf said he would accept any penalty imposed, and that he has since updated his insurance cover.

"This was an honest mistake, and an embarrassing one for me personally, he said"

The Glasgow Pollok MSP said the incident "underlines the importance of being properly insured at all times".

"I hope my example reminds others to check their insurance and I remain committed to my work to improve Scotland's transport system for everyone."