SCOTTISH ministers were accused of “heavy-handed interference” in the freedom of the press today, as Nicola Sturgeon claimed she was not aware that one of her own government agencies had taken a newspaper to court until the case became public.

Last month the Sunday Mail published images of HMP Edinburgh prisoner Allan Marshall being dragged naked across a corridor and “restrained” with a towel over his face in an incident three years ago. Mr Marshall died in hospital while still in custody.

On Saturday August 24 the paper was told to attend a court hearing to stop publication of the images in the paper the following day.