NICOLA Sturgeon has been asked to investigate whether taxpayers’ money was wrongly used to pay for a ministerial motorcade after the SNP’s general election manifesto launch.

The First Minister was urged by Labour to check whether there had been a breach of the Scottish Ministerial Code, which she polices, in relation to the May 30 event.

The Herald revealed five SNP cabinet secretaries and four ministers used a fleet of seven government cars for the 45-mile trip from Perth Concert Hall to Edinburgh.

READ MORE: SNP ministers criticised for using taxpayer-funded cars after party manifesto launch

Ministers are not allowed to use public funds for party political campaigning.

The ministerial code states: “Official transport should not normally be used for travel arrangements arising from party or private business.”

The government said the journeys were justified, as the ministers were going onward to official duties, mainly at the Scottish Parliament.

However Labour called it “an outrageous abuse” of public money for party political purposes, while the Scottish Tories said it “reeked of privileged complacency”.

The cabinet secretaries involved were John Swinney, Derek Mackay, Shona Robison, Fiona Hyslop, and Fergus Ewing, while the ministers were Dr Alasdair Allan, Maureen Watt, and Paul Wheelhouse, who also shared his car with Michael Russell.

READ MORE: SNP ministers criticised for using taxpayer-funded cars after party manifesto launch

Despite repeated requests, the government has yet to say if Ms Sturgeon also used an official vehicle.

The ministerial journeys were revealed in official travel logs published online this week.

They reveal Brexit minister Michael Russell also took a government car home after a meeting in Oban on Brexit organised by the SNP Oban & Lorn branch on April 24.

Adverts for the meeting prominently displayed the SNP logo to show it was a party event.

READ MORE: SNP ministers criticised for using taxpayer-funded cars after party manifesto launch

Although the car journeys for ministers in May and June are public, the government has changed its policy on publishing the First Minister’s car trips, meaning the details of her journeys in May and June, when election campaigning was at its peak, remain secret.

Officials said this was due to security considerations, even though the information is historic.

If Ms Sturgeon is the subject of a complaint under the ministerial code, she can refer herself to her two independent advisers for a ruling.

These are currently the former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini and Professor James Hamilton, a former prosecutor at the Irish Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Labour MSP James Kelly has written to Ms Sturgeon asking for an “immediate investigation” into whether the code was breached.

He said: “These are serious accusations that must be immediately investigated.

“The ministerial code is a vital part of our democracy and is essential to retaining public trust in politicians.

“The public and parliament deserves to know how these trips came to take place, what the justification for them is and whether such journeys will happen again.

“Anything less than a full investigation would be a breach of trust and leave SNP ministers looking even further out of touch than they do already.”

READ MORE: SNP ministers criticised for using taxpayer-funded cars after party manifesto launch

Tory MSP Miles Briggs added: “The public will be deeply uncomfortable at the idea of eight ministers swanning out of such a party political event and straight into a taxpayer-funded car.

“And they obviously took their lead from Nicola Sturgeon a month earlier, who may have enjoyed posing on a Yes-themed motorbike for a publicity stunt. But what the cameras didn’t pick up was the taxpayer-funded fancy car waiting round the corner.

“It’s the kind of hypocrisy and abuse the SNP is becoming renowned for.

“Anyone can see just how political events like a manifesto launch or photocall are, and the ministerial code clearly states this kind of thing would be a breach.

“SNP ministers seem to have forgotten that these cars are paid for by the public, and they risk not being taken seriously when they complain about limited resources available.”

The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.