A SNP MSP has criticised a hit BBC drama over its inaccurate portrayal of Scots law.

Dr Alasdair Allan told corporation chiefs he enjoyed the series Vigil once he got over his "irritation" with the suggestion sudden deaths are investigated by coroners in Scotland.

Coroners courts only exists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, sudden deaths can be probed in a fatal accident investigation (FAI). The decision to hold an FAI is up to the Crown Office though there are various circumstance in which they are legally required such as deaths in custody or at work.

Mr Allan, who represents Na h-Eileanan an Iar, raised his complaint in passing at Holyrood's culture committee yesterday when MSPs were questioning BBC bosses over the corporation annual report.

He said: "Incidentally I also enjoyed Vigil once I had overcome my irritation of the fact that the programme's writers seem to believe we have coroners in Scotland."

Starring Martin Compston and Suranne Jones, Vigil, which was broadcast last year, was the UK's most watched drama launch in three years.

The BBC drama, set and filmed in Scotland, follows the story of a missing boat and a probe into a mysterious death on board a Trident submarine.

Part of the plot echoed the real-life fishing tragedy of the Antares.

In the opening scenes, a fishing trawler is dragged below water off the coast of Scotland with crew on board.

Below the surface in the submarine, chief petty officer Craig Burke (Compston) hears signs of distress on the fictional HMS Vigil.

After he's told by Commander Neil Newsome (Paterson Joseph) that the submarine would not go up to aid the fishermen, Burk fumes: "What about the Antares, a whole crew left to drown?

"We know there’ll be men in the water up there. You’re going to let them die?"

Dugald Campbell, 20, skipper Jamie Russell, 36, William Martindale, 24, and Stewart Campbell, 29, died when the Antares’ fishing nets became tangled with a submarine passing underneath it in the Firth of Clyde on November 22, 1990.

The tragedy led to major changes in how the Navy carries out training exercises in areas where civilian vessels are likely to be present.

After the first episode aired some viewers questioned the show's accuracy both with regard to Scots law and naval practices.

Philip D Grove, a naval historian, said the programme was at odds with reality from the first scene, in which Compston's junior submariner, Burke, angrily questions the authority of Paterson Joseph's Captain Newsome after an apparent collision with a trawler. 

Mr Grove said: "A direct challenge from a junior figure would be a very rare occurrence. The captain of a vessel is not quite the godlike figure often depicted in Second World War films, but simultaneously respect of the chain of command is key within a ship, submarine or squadron."

The premise of the show, of a detective being airlifted on to a submarine for an investigation, was also criticised as going against standard practice as such an event would be overseen by military police.

One retired submariner said: "The police would not normally have jurisdiction, as any incident on board a Royal Navy ship or submarine would come under naval or military discipline acts and be the subject of an investigation or Board of Inquiry, which could result in disciplinary action or a court martial."

Mr Allan made the comment about Vigil as he asked BBC chiefs how it the corporation defined Scotland specific programming and what factors were taken into account.

Steve Carson, director, BBC Scotland did not respond to Mr Allan's comments on the coroners' courts.

He said what counted as Scotland specific programme was a mixture of content spending on programmes commissioned directly by BBC Scotland, BBC news spending and network spending on Scotland and also some spending by the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Earlier in the committee hearing Mr Carson confirmed Vigil would be returning to the BBC for a second series.