THE Scottish Conservatives have been forced to delay the start of their spring conference because of the extreme weather.
The party had been due to meet in Aberdeen from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon.
The event includes speeches by Scots leader Ruth Davidson and the Prime Minister.
At noon on Wednesday, the party warned delegates the event could be cancelled because of the heavy snow across most of the country.
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Lord McInnes, the director of the party in Scotland, said there would be an update on the “rapidly changing situation” at 10am on Thursday.
However shortly before 4pm the plan changed, and the party announced the start of the conference had been pushed back to 1230 on Friday.
Lord McInnes said the decision followed discussions with Police Scotland and other relevant authorities and had taken into account “the ongoing changes with travelling conditions”.
He said the current intention was to "reschedule" the event, but warned there would be a further update on Thursday morning.
He said: “This decision will also allow attendees to travel on Friday morning and avoid disruptive and potentially dangerous conditions on Thursday.
“An updated conference agenda will be circulated tomorrow, but we will endeavour to ensure that all scheduled debates and sessions will still take place, albeit with slightly different timings.
“In the meantime we will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the safe and smooth running of the Conference.”
The Scottish Conservatives chose Aberdeen to mark the party’s general election success in the north east, when Tories defeated former SNP First Minister Alex Salmond and former SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson.
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A Conservative spokesman confirmed cancellation was an option if the weather conditions were deemed dangerous.
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