Humza Yousaf has stepped back from any decisions involving a long-lost fragment of the Stone of Destiny found in an SNP cupboard.

The First Minister has recused himself in order to avoid any conflict of interest with his official role as one of those responsible for the safekeeping of the Stone.

As FM, Mr Yousaf is automatically one of the Commissioners for the Safeguarding of the Regalia and did not want there to be a clash with his role as leader of the SNP.  

The change was included in an update to the list of Scottish ministers’ interests after Mr Yousaf took part in a ceremony involving the ancient sandstone block last week.

The First Minister participated in a special farewell ceremony to mark the departure of the Stone, used for centuries in the coronation of monarchs, from Edinburgh Castle.

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The 152kg artefact, also known as the Stone of Scone, is going soon to Perth Museum where it will be at the centre of a £27m redevelopment.

The SNP’s possession of a fragment of the Stone came to light in the New Year after National Records of Scotland unsealed Scottish Cabinet minutes from 2008. 

They showed then SNP first minister Alex Salmond was presented with a piece of the Stone by the son of a Nationalist who helped “liberate” it from Westminster Abbey.

It was given to him by the legal scholar the late Professor Sir Neil MacCormick, whose father  helped bankroll four Nationalist students who removed the relic on Christmas Day 1950.

Linked by legend to ancient Egypt, the Stone of Destiny was used as the crowning seat of Scottish kings at Scone between the 9th and 13th centuries, before Edward I took it to Westminster in 1296, where it was used to crown English monarchs.

The four students - Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart - broke into the Abbey and reclaimed it for Scotland to further the cause of independence.

The block broke in two during the raid, but both pieces were ultimately reunited and left at Arbroath Abbey covered in a Saltire in April 1951 and the police tipped off.

John MacCormick, a Nationalist lawyer and rector of Glasgow University, reportedly gave the group £50 to help them with the raid and signed a note testifying to the Stone’s authenticity.

The Stone was returned to Scotland in 1996 thanks to the efforts of Tory peer Lord Forsyth. 

According to Scottish cabinet minutes from September 2008, Mr Salmond was told he could hold on to the artefact by Permanent Secretary Sir John Elvidge, who agreed the fragment “need not be surrendered to Historic Scotland”. 

The release of the cabinet minutes sparked a hunt for the piece of rock, with the Scottish Tories demanding Mr Salmond hand it back to the nation.

After a week, the SNP reported it had found the item in a cupboard.

Work is being carried out to ascertain the authenticity of the fragment, amid calls for it to be reunited with the rest of the stone when it goes on display in Perth.

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Uncertainty about the piece, despite its impressive provenance, is reflected by the update in Mr Yousaf’s list of interests, which says it is “thought” to be part of the Stone.

The Scottish Government text states: “The First Minister has recused himself from any decisions relating to the fragment of stone held by the SNP thought to be part of the Stone of Destiny in order to avoid a conflict of interest between his role as a Commissioner for the Safeguarding of the Regalia and his role as Leader of the SNP.”

A spokeswoman for Historic Environment Scotland (HES) said: “HES act on behalf of the Commissioners of the Regalia in relation to the Stone of Destiny, and we are currently providing specialist technical advice in this matter.”