THE First Minister furiously hit back at accusations his party was in “meltdown” – saying the Tories were “brave” to bring up allegations of impropriety.
Humza Yousaf took questions from MSPs after delivering a speech outlining his priorities, in which he announced he would send “back to the drawing board” key policies from the Nicola Sturgeon era.
But he faced a barrage of criticism from his opponents over the police investigation into the SNP’s finances, which resulted earlier in the day in the arrest of party treasurer Colin Beattie.
The Scottish Tory deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said the party was “engulfed in scandal” and repeated her party’s demands for Peter Murrell – the former SNP chief executive who was questioned under caution but released without charge – Sturgeon and Beattie to be suspended from the party.
And she accused Yousaf of being a “continuity First Minister leading a continuity government”, claiming he had failed to prove he was his “own man”.
He said: “The First Minister makes this statement today as his party is engulfed in scandal. The SNP is in total meltdown.”
A furious Yousaf hit back, pointing out the scandals surrounding the Conservative Party in Westminster, including sleaze probes into Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson.
He said: "It is brave – some may use another word for it – when it comes to talking about propriety.
“Your Prime Minister, your deputy prime minister, and the former prime minister are all under investigation by the Standards Commission.
“So yes, while we face challenges, while we absolutely face challenges, I’d rather be standing here with the opportunity to deliver for the people of Scotland rather than languishing in the opposition like Meghan Gallacher and the Scottish Tories.”
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, accused the First Minister of peddling “rehashed promises” while welcoming some measures in the government’s programme.
He said: “What Humza Yousaf can’t escape from is that he is not now running a functioning government.
“This is an SNP that is mired in scandal, mired in division, talking to themselves about themselves and the crisis that now engulfs the SNP is not just an indication of how they govern their party but also how they govern our country.”
In response, Yousaf branded Sarwar the “master of the soundbite” and said he had offered no critique of “substance” to the SNP’s new policy agenda.
He said: “Goodness. Not a single idea, not a single proposal, not a single bit of understanding of the policy prospectus. Completely vacuous from the master of the soundbite.
“No substance, no substance at all. All style and no substance whatsoever from Anas Sarwar because he is vacuous, completely devoid of any policy proposals of his own whatsoever.”
