HUMZA Yousaf has defended Nicola Sturgeon amid Tory calls for her to quit the SNP – saying society was “past” judging a woman by the actions of her husband.
Speaking at the Scottish Trades Union Congress’s (STUC) conference in Dundee on Monday, the First Minister said there was no reason for his predecessor to resign from the party or be suspended – for which Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy has called – and claimed the SNP’s opponents wanted Sturgeon off the political scene entirely.
It comes after the former first minister said she would not return in person to the Scottish Parliament this week – claiming she was worried about overshadowing Yousaf’s statement on Tuesday outlining the priorities of his new government.
The home of Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell was the subject of a dramatic police raid during parliament's Easter break.
He was arrested and questioned under caution but released without charge.
Asked if he anticipated the prospect of Sturgeon resigning from the party, Yousaf said: “No and she would have no reason to resign at all.
“He husband has been questioned – under caution and admittedly that’s a significant event – but we are far past the time of judging what a woman does based on what happens to her husband.”
He said he had not spoken with Sturgeon recently and that he had no immediate plans to. “We’ve not got anything in the diary,” said the First Minister.
“Nicola and I will, of course, speak but what we won’t speak about is the police investigation.
“Nicola and I both know that we can’t speak about that, nor would it be appropriate for us to speak about this.”
The Scottish Tories have called for Sturgeon to be removed from the SNP amid the ongoing police investigation into the party’s finances.
But Yousaf pointed out his political opponents were “hardly objective” observers of the SNP and suggested Tories wanted Sturgeon out of the picture because of her political popularity.
He said: “Nicola Sturgeon has beat our opponents in election after election, I’m hardly surprised they want to get rid of her from the political scene altogether.”
