Theresa May's most senior adviser on Scots law has been charged with committing a firearms offence on Hogmanay.

Richard Keen QC, the Advocate General for Scotland, is alleged to have contravened 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, is charged with breaching the legislation at his Edinburgh home on December 31 last year.

Police Scotland said they were initially called to Lord Keen's home following a report of a break-in.

According to court papers, he is alleged to have failed to comply with the conditions of his firearms certificate by not securing a 12-bore shotgun.

The charge stated that, according to the conditions, shotguns must at all times "be stored securely so as to prevent so far as reasonably practicable, access to the shotguns by unauthorised persons".

A statement from his spokesman said: "Lord Keen deeply regrets this inadvertent breach of licence conditions, which was a one-off error.

"He has held a licence for many years and has always adhered strictly to the licence conditions, as evidenced by a number of police inspections."

A UK Government spokesman said: "We are aware Lord Keen is in correspondence with the procurator fiscal regarding a legal matter relating to an inadvertent breach of licence conditions.