Stewart Stevenson resigned over his handling of the travel chaos The Scottish government will appoint a new transport minister later, following the resignation of Stewart Stevenson.
He quit his post on Saturday over the way he handled the chaos caused by last week’s severe winter weather.
The heavy snowfall, which started during the rush hour on Monday morning, caused gridlock on Scotland’s roads, with thousands stuck overnight.
First Minister Alex Salmond tried to convince Mr Stevenson to remain in his post despite attacks from opponents.
However, he accepted his resignation on Saturday, with “great regret”.
In his resignation letter, Mr Stevenson, the SNP MSP for Banff and Buchan, said: “Although we put in place significant efforts to tackle the event, I feel that I could have done much more to ensure that members of the public who were caught up in a difficult and frightening set of circumstances were better informed of the situation.
“I deeply regret that and for that reason I feel I should step down.”
Mr Salmond replied to the resignation letter by saying: “Even your harshest critic would admit that you have always pursued any task you have addressed with diligence and devotion.
“Both these qualities have been evident in your service as a minister in this first SNP government.”
Mr Salmond went on to criticise the “reprehensible” parliamentary game-playing of some political opponents.
But Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said it was right that Mr Stevenson should resign.
He said: “The first minister should not have stretched the issue out over the last week and acted more decisively at an earlier stage.”
Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie said the government was guilty of weak leadership and an absence of direction while Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott said the people of Scotland “deserve an awful lot better”.
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