Scotland’s First Minister has reassured Scots that “public safety and public security” are a priority for Christmas events following an attack on a German Christmas market.

Five people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed and more than 200 injured when a car ploughed through the market in the city of Magdeburg on Friday night.

John Swinney expressed the condolences of the people of Scotland to the Saxony-Anhalt Government following the attack.

It's really important that everybody feels safe when they are undertaking all of their activities in life, but particularly when they are attending some of these very precious Christmas events within our community

Speaking to the PA news agency on Monday, Mr Swinney said: “The events in Magdeburg are absolutely heartbreaking and I have expressed the sympathy and the condolences of the people of Scotland to the Saxon-Anhalt Government as a consequence of this atrocity.

“It’s really important that everybody feels safe when they are undertaking all of their activities in life, but particularly when they are attending some of these very precious Christmas events within our community.

“Police Scotland has very active engagement with all of the organisers of these events to make sure that public safety and public security are uppermost in all of the preparations that are made for these events and that is the case in all circumstances in these events across Scotland.”

Authorities have arrested a man they say is a doctor who arrived in the country from Saudi Arabia in 2006, but have said he does not fit the usual profile of perpetrators of extremist attacks.