Transport minister Humza Yousaf has been caught driving without proper car insurance.

Police stopped the Glasgow Pollok MSP while he was behind the wheel of a friend's car on the way to a St Andrew's Night dinner in Ullapool on Friday.

They found he did not have the correct insurance to drive the car during the stop near Dingwall.

Mr Yousaf said he believed his fully comprehensive insurance allowed him to drive any vehicle.

Changes to his policy as a result of his recent marriage breakup meant he was only insured on his own car.

The SNP politician said he does not plan to contest the issue, calling it an "honest mistake" in an apology he shared on Twitter on Wednesday.

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."

Mr Yousaf was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011 as a list MSP for the Glasgow region when he was 26.

He was appointed a junior minister by Alex Salmond in 2012, responsible for external affairs and international development, before being handed the role of minister for Europe and international development.

The 31-year-old said: "I have cooperated fully and will not be contesting the issue. I will accept any penalty imposed and have taken immediate steps to update my insurance cover.

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

Mr Yousaf said the incident "underlines the importance of being properly insured at all times".

He added: "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."

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: "Anyone could have found themselves in this situation, due process has been followed, Mr Yousaf himself has apologised, and we should move on.

"He now has an opportunity to use this incident to persuade others of the importance of motorists being properly insured."