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Horticulture businesses have been given the go-ahead by the Scottish government to resume operations, so long as workers stick strictly to public health rules on social distancing.

The advice comes from Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing in response to lobbying from a Conservative MSP.

The clarification means that, for example, growers of daffodils can harvest them for sale in shops.

One garden centre owner said the decision was “sensible” and “workable.”

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton, the shadow rural economy secretary, raised the issue after the police visited a horticulture business and ordered it to shut down.

But in a letter to Ms Hamilton, Fergus Ewing said operations could “continue” provided businesses protect the safety and welfare of their staff, keep up-to-date with the latest guidance and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Ms Hamilton said she was “extremely grateful and pleased” the Scottish government acted “so quickly and confirmed that horticultural businesses can stay open at this time”.

She warned that horticultural businesses are “often associated with farming businesses” and that without them it could “undermine” the country’s “ability to provide food for Scottish people in the coming months”.