Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has rejected comparisons between footage of her not wearing a mask in a barber shop despite it being legally required.

She argued that there was a “very, very clear difference” between her self-described “error” and what she derided as a “serial culture of lawbreaking” at Downing Street lockdown and Whitehall.

Quizzed over the scandal by STV, Sturgeon explained:

“I have recognised I made an error in not having a mask on for literally a few seconds.

“I was campaigning in the street, my mask was in my pocket, I got shouted into a barbers, I was talking to people, and for a few seconds I forgot to put my mask back on.

“I do think it is important for me to recognise that was wrong, and I shouldn’t, even for those few seconds, have lapsed in that.

“People will make up their own minds about that. My view, and what I would say to people, is that I don’t think it is equivalent to what Boris Johnson is accused of, the what appears to be serial culture of law breaking in No 10, but then the misleading of parliament.

“I do think there is a very, very clear difference there and I think it is reasonable for me to point that out.”