<p><br /> Stewart Stevenson has resigned as Scotland's transport minister after criticism of his handling of travel chaos caused by extreme weather last week.<br /> </p><p><br /> He said in a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond: "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.<br /> </p><p><br /> "I deeply regret that and for that reason I feel I should step down."<br /> </p><p><br /> Mr Salmond said he accepted the resignation "with great regret" in a written response, saying: "I understand your reasons for resigning but frankly I think it is wrong that you should have faced this situation.<br /> </p><p><br /> "You have worked to ensure the preparedness of our transport network for winter weather. These plans have generally proved effective but on Monday we were faced by an unprecedented challenge."<br /> </p><p><br /> Snow and ice brought much of Scotland to a standstill with traffic gridlock on busy motorways earlier this week.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Banff and Buchan MSP apologised for a lack of preparation and on Thursday night met with the leader of the SNP government when he told him that he felt he should resign.<br /> </p><p><br /> He wrote to Mr Salmond: "You kindly asked me to take Friday to consider whether that was the appropriate action to take. I took that time to think this through and I have decided to resign."<br /> </p><p><br /> The First Minister will announce on Sunday who will assume Mr Stevenson's responsibilities for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change.<br /> </p>
