SERCO CEO Rupert Soames is facing backlash after travelling from England to Inverness to visit his Caledonian Sleeper staff earlier today.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union told The Scotsman that the two-day trip, which has seen Soames travel to meet “frontline staff and key workers”, was “absolutely outrageous”.

But Serco, the company that runs the Caledonian Sleeper trains between Scotland and London, has said the journey was “essential”.

Soames himself revealed he was making the trip in a tweet earlier today, posting: “Visiting crew on @CalSleeper still running service 6 nights a week. Ideal way to maintain social distance for those who need to travel between Scotland and England. Your own cabin, no airport hustle. Likewise @NFLerries keeping supplies open to and from Northern Isles.”

The UK Government’s own guidance on England’s new lockdown measures has said people based in the country can now travel as far from their own homes as they wish for exercise purposes, as long as they do not enter the devolved nations where stricter lockdowns remain in place.

The First Minister said yesterday if you live in England and work in “an essential job” then travelling to Scotland is “perfectly legitimate. However she added: "But if you are coming to Scotland and are not covered by those essential purposes, then you potentially would be in breach of the law."

READ MORE: Serco chief Rupert Soames upbeat despite profits fall

RMT Scotland organiser Mike Hogg said the journey was “astonishing” and “should not be happening”.

Addressing the “essential” reason for Soames’s journey, Hogg said: “There are other managerial colleagues who could deal with that.

“Clearly, he has not been listening and he seems oblivious to the guidance.

“Does he think because he is a senior person in business it is ok for him to travel?”

Serco did not tell The Scotsman whether Soames would visit other parts of Scotland while on the two-day trip but insisted the boss would ensure he was social distancing.

A spokesperson for the company said: “As he has reported on Twitter, Rupert Soames has been visiting a number of front-line staff and key workers during the crisis, essential in his role as chief executive.

“He fiercely defends his decision to show solidarity with front-line workers and believes that hiding at home while others are expected to work in trains, prisons and hospitals is not an appropriate style of leadership.

“He is returning straight back to London on Wednesday, which will allow him to meet the guest services team in Inverness and four Caledonian Sleeper train crews.

“Between times, he is doing permitted activity, job interviews and contract visits.”

As well as running Caledonian Sleeper, outsourcing giant Serco is well known for its role at the centre of a controversy over its use of lock changes against tenants denied the right to remain in the UK.

Last year the company lost its asylum housing contract in Scotland and has since been replaced by Mears Group.