SNP ministers have attempted to bolster their fragile legal case for introducing alcohol minimum pricing by pointing to new figures showing Scottish sales increased last year to the equivalent of 41 bottles of vodka per adult.

The NHS Scotland report found a downward trend in sales over recent years had reversed in 2015, mainly due to a greater proportion being sold through supermarkets and off-licences, which hit their highest level since records began.

The Scottish sales were 20 per cent higher than in England and Wales. More than twice as much vodka was bought through off-sales per adult north of the Border.

The report found 10.8 litres of pure alcohol was sold per adult in Scotland - equivalent to 41 bottles of vodka, 116 bottles of wine or 477 pints of beer in the year.

Researchers also looked at prices and found the average price of a unit of alcohol sold through off-sales was 52p, unchanged for the past two years. This is more than the 50p minimum price SNP ministers had planned to charge before the scheme was challenged in the courts.

Aileen Campbell, the new Public Health Minister, said the figures supported the case for minimum pricing as there is a direct link between price and the harm caused.