BBC Scotland has refused to rule out the possibility of a u-turn on its decision to axe the Scottish Government's daily coronavirus briefings from its live television coverage.

The broadcaster has suggested it will not televise all of the First Minister’s public health briefings, and will instead decide whether the briefings will be televised based on "editorial merit".

The decision has been met with fury, with more than 35,000 people signing a petition calling for a reversal.

But the broadcaster has not ruled out changing its decision.

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Speaking with presenter John Beattie, BBC Scotland's head of public policy and corporate affairs Ian Small said they would keep the decision under review.

"The BBC is not perfect - no news organisation is perfect," he said on Friday evening. "We've taken the decision we think might well work in terms of that overall approach - but if we were to find that a better approach could be found, then we'd look at that as well.

"We are not beyond looking at our decision on a regular basis and reviewing them.

"We think what we've done, the decision that we've taken at the moment, in the circumstances, is the right one."

He added: "We must be very clear that as the situation is developing over the days and weeks, as it has been doing over the last week or so, we are keeping very very close tabs on that to make sure everything we do, we do with the audience, and the reporting to that audience, in mind."

On Friday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her ability to communicate directly with the public is "more important than ever".

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At her daily briefing, she said the briefings were a vital public service, particularly for vulnerable groups, as Covid cases accelerate.

She said: "What has struck me over the period that these briefings have been televised is that they have been particularly important to certain sections of the population that maybe don't routinely go onto the internet.

"We are in unique circumstances right now and the ability for me and my colleagues to communicate directly with the public has never been more important.

"So, it's for the BBC (to decide). All I would ask is that they take that into account in the decisions that they make."