Humza Yousaf’s absence from key vote on gay marriage being ‘dragged up’ for political reasons, SNP leadership candidate says
One of three candidates vying to take over from Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the SNP says his absence from a key vote on gay marriage is being “dragged up” for political reasons.
Humza Yousaf told Sky News that his abstention from the final vote on equal marriage in Scotland in 2014 is being raised by “people who are supporting other candidates”.
That “probably tells you the motivation behind it”, he added.
Asked twice whether gay sex is a sin, Mr Yousaf, a practising Muslim who says he will be fasting during Ramadan, replied: “No.”
He told Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I believe that people’s marriage, if they are gay, and they are married, that their marriage is no more inferior, or worth less, than my marriage as a heterosexual individual.
“So no, I don’t subscribe to that view (that gay sex is a sin).”
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Regarding religious concerns about homosexuality, he said: “I can’t change what’s in scripture. What I can tell you is the approach I will take which is that I will not allow personal faith to be the basis of legislation.”
Asked about his absence from the 2014 vote, Mr Yousaf said he attended a meeting to try to get a Scottish citizen, who was in Pakistan “on blasphemy”, and who had been attacked on death row, back to Scotland.
He told Sky News: “There was a series of meetings taking place between myself and the Pakistani government to get this individual back home.
“One of those meetings was during the stage three vote.
“Let me be unequivocal about it – if I was there I would have voted for it. That was well known at the time.”
But former minister Alex Neil has claimed Mr Yousaf’s meeting could have been rearranged.
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One of Mr Yousaf’s rivals, Kate Forbes, a practising Christian, has said she does not believe in sex outside marriage.
“In terms of my faith, my faith would say that sex is for marriage and that’s the approach that I would practice,” she told Sky News.
She also said transgender double rapist Isla Bryson “is a man” and she does not support making it easier for people aged 16 and 17 to change gender – something that was in the Scottish government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
That bill has been blocked by the UK government.
Mr Yousaf said: “I think Bryson is at it to be honest,” adding he doesn’t think they are a “true trans woman”.
He added: “I think they’re trying to play the system for personal advantage.”
The third candidate is Ash Regan, who resigned in protest at Nicola Sturgeon’s gender legislation.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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