No legal barriers stand in the way of commercial space flights from an RAF base, a Nationalist politician has revealed.

SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson held talks with UK Science Minister Lord Drayson on Tuesday about the flights from RAF Lossiemouth in his Moray constituency.

Virgin Atlantic has already identified the military establishment as a potential base for the UK's first commercial space enterprise.

Mr Robertson said: "Scotland offers the right combination of aeronautical, technical and climactic factors to host these flights and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray is acknowledged as the leading site for operations.”

As well as Lord Drayson, Dr Ian Gibson of the British National Space Centre was also at the talks.

"What emerged from our meeting is that there are no serious legislative or regulatory impediments to commercial space flight in the UK," Mr Robertson added.

"We now hope that the development of technology by Virgin Galactic and other companies is successful. This would provide a platform for domestic satellite launches as well as space tourism.

"Scotland could very well become a European centre for space launches and this offers tremendous opportunities for scientific, economic and tourism development."

Mr Robertson said test flights were already under way and it was "increasingly likely" that these flights would be a reality in the next few years.

Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn gave the Moray lecture in Lossiemouth about commercial space flight last year.

He said that wealthy space tourists could be blasting off from an RAF air base in the north east within five years, but that Machrihanish in Argyll and an air base in south-west England were also suitable.