Humza Yousaf has denied arranging a meeting so he could skip a vote on same sex marriage.
Former Health Minister Alex Neil said a ministerial meeting was arranged to take place at "exactly the same time as the vote in Glasgow” because “of pressure [Yousaf] was under from the mosque for him to be absent”.
But when Yousaf was asked if he “deliberately arranged a meeting” so he could miss the vote, he said: "No, that was not done. It was an unavoidable meeting that was arranged."
The SNP leadership hopeful was the only minister to miss voting on Stage 3 of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill in February 2014.
He voted for the bill at the first stage in 2013 while he was minister for external affairs.
Yousaf has said that he missed the final vote because he was meeting the Pakistani consulate over the case of a Scottish citizen on death row.
When asked why the meeting was arranged on the specific day of the vote three weeks in advance, Yousaf said: "I would have to go back nine years to try to see why it was done at that particular moment."
But Neil said Yousaf has not been “upfront” about why he was not in Holyrood at the time.
Neil told Times Radio: “We were having a free vote at Stage 3... and any minister who wasn't going to vote for the bill, or we wanted to skip the vote, had to get the permission of the first minister to do so.
“There was a request from Humza, because, in his words, of pressure he was under from the mosque for him to be absent from the vote.
“And Alex Salmond, the first minister, gave him permission to do that.
“And a ministerial meeting was arranged to take place at exactly the same time as the vote in Glasgow to give Humza cover for not being there.”
Yousaf denied having any conversation with Alex Salmond to ask to skip the vote because of pressure from religious leaders.
He said: “I've told you very, very clearly. I do not remember any conversation with Alex Salmond about the equal marriage vote. I'm sure we spoke about equal marriage, just as I would have spoken, I'm certain, with other government ministers.”
Yousaf's diary records show that he was asked to attend the gay marriage vote on January 14, 2014. But two days later he requested a meeting with the Pakistan Consul General in Glasgow at the same time as the vote.
It was not until a week later that 69-year-old Scot Mohammed Ashgar was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan.
Yousaf said he was “vocal” in his support for gay marriage and would “champion equal rights for all” as First Minister.
He said: "I was proud to vote in favour of the Equal Marriage Bill in Scotland's Parliament.
"I was vocal about my support for marriage equality at the time and I remain unequivocal on that position.
"As your SNP First Minister, and as someone from a minority background myself, I will stand up and champion equal rights for all."
Then SNP Government's Minister for Parliamentary Business Joe FitzPatrick said that Yousaf did not raise any concerns about the bill and that he gave it his “full backing”.
He added that Yousaf was “a staunch ally of the LGBTQ+ community”.
FitzPatrick said: "I was the Government's Minister for Parliamentary Business at the time.
"All arrangements for Ministers being handed permission to conduct vital government business during votes in parliament were handled and approved by myself.
"While other Ministers did raise concerns about the Bill at the time, Humza was not one of them.
"Humza gave his full backing to the Bill in its first vote through parliament and he continues to be a staunch ally of the LGBTQ+ community to this day and beyond.
"Humza is the progressive leader that our party and wider movement need to take us forward on our journey to independence."
Yousaf's leadership rival Kate Forbes has faced criticism from party colleagues for saying she would have voted against same-sex marriage.
Several of her supporters stopped backing her and six MSPs have said that they will vote against her becoming First Minister if she wins the party leadership contest.
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