HUMZA Yousaf has hit back after a Tory MSP accused him of breaking the ministerial code while trying to help members of his family escape from Gaza.
On Monday, Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr claimed that Yousaf had broken the ministerial code by engaging in a “personal phone call” with then foreign secretary James Cleverly in November last year.
Following the attack Israeli military forces began an assault on Gaza, with more than 40,000 people killed by Israeli attacks so far.
Yousaf’s parents-in-law were among hundreds of British citizens trapped in Gaza during the early day’s of Israel’s assault.
According to The Times, documents obtained via a Freedom of Information request show that Yousaf was told during the phone call with Cleverly that his family were added to the “priority list” of people seeking to escape Gaza.
In response, Kerr accused Yousaf of breaking the Scottish Government’s ministerial code which states that the nobody in public office should use their position to the advantage of their family or friends.
He said: “Which of us, in Humza Yousaf’s desperate position, would not have mentioned family members trapped in Gaza at such a dangerous time to the foreign secretary, if we had the chance?
They can try all the smears they want, but they won't stop me from talking about the atrocities facing the people of Gaza & Lebanon. As the FOIs show, not a single request was ever made by me for preferential treatment for my in-laws. They left alongside other British nationals. https://t.co/Lvcj9GdM1e pic.twitter.com/VRV3QdCgLs
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) September 30, 2024
“We shouldn’t question his motives but as a public servant, we have every right to question his methods. The rules are very clear.”
“And we must also put ourselves in the position of other families in Scotland worried about relatives trapped in Gaza, who were not able to have a word in the foreign secretary’s ear and get their family moved nearer the front of the queue for evacuation. “
Despite Kerr’s claim that Yousaf’s family were “moved nearer the front of the queue”, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “No preferential treatment was given to the former first minister or his family.
“FCDO ministers spoke with him at the time to update him on the conflict in the Middle East.
“As part of these wider conversations, they discussed his family’s personal circumstances”.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government also stated that claims Yousaf sought preferential treatment for his family were “completely untrue”.
“The former first minister consistently sought assurances that the UK government was doing everything it could to ensure the safety of all British citizens in Gaza,” they said.
“The former first minister made the permanent secretary aware of the situation with his family immediately that it arose. It was also widely and publicly known.”
Now, Yousaf has hit back at Kerr’s accusation.
In a post on X/Twitter, he said: “They can try all the smears they want, but they won't stop me from talking about the atrocities facing the people of Gaza & Lebanon.
“As the FOIs show, not a single request was ever made by me for preferential treatment for my in-laws. They left alongside other British nationals.”
The First Minister John Swinney also defended Yousaf, describing his actions as being in the "normal routine business of government."
He added: “I think what’s important is to focus on the central point in this whole story, which is about the fact that we had citizens from this country who were trapped in Gaza, in an awful conflict and they had to be supported to be brought home.
Asked specifically if he would order a probe under the ministerial code, Swinney said: “I have no intention of doing so.”
The First Minister likened the actions of Yousaf to that of his own government in response to the ongoing hostilities in Lebanon.
“We have been in touch with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on that question about Lebanon, as members of the public would expect me to be, as they would expect my predecessor to be in touch on the Gaza situation,” he said.
“So this is the normal routine business of government, where your citizens are held in a difficult situation of conflict that you do your best to get them out.”
