The UK Government's most senior adviser on Scots law has been fined £1,000 after admitting a firearms offence.
Advocate General for Scotland Richard Keen QC pleaded guilty to breaching section two of the Firearms Act 1968 by failing to secure a shotgun.
Lord Keen, a former chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party who was made a life peer in 2015, did not appear when the case called at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday but he pleaded guilty by letter.
Sheriff Frank Crowe said: "I do take into account Mr Keen's previous good record and the fact that he admitted his guilt at the outset.
"Nevertheless to hold a firearms certificate is a privilege and there are very strict conditions which have to be adhered to to prevent such weapons falling into the wrong hands.
"There was a potential risk with the shotgun not in the secure cabinet as laid down by the regulations."
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