SNP leadership hopeful Humza Yousaf skipped key vote on gay marriage due to ‘religious pressure’, says Scotland’s former first minister Alex Salmond
Scotland’s former first minister Alex Salmond has told Sky News that SNP leadership hopeful Humza Yousaf skipped a key vote on gay marriage due to “religious pressure”.
The Alba Party leader said Mr Yousaf seems to have a “different recollection” over the events surrounding the historic 2014 vote after the Scottish health secretary denied deliberately setting up a diary clash weeks in advance.
However, appearing on Beth Rigby Interviews on Thursday, Mr Salmond said he was notified of Mr Yousaf’s meeting “10 days or so before the vote”.
Humza Yousaf pictured taking part in the SNP leadership hustings in Cumbernauld on Wednesday night
‘That’s my recollection’
Mr Salmond, who was leader of the SNP and Scotland at the time of the final vote, told Ms Rigby: “I’ve been very reluctant to get involved in this because it is an internal SNP leadership battle.
“I really don’t have a dog in this race, and anything I say, you know, people will say ‘he’s only saying that because he’s leader of Alba’.
“My memory is that I was contacted 10 days or so before the vote, when the vote was known, and told that Humza was arranging a ministerial appointment.”
When pressed further on whether Mr Yousaf skipped the vote due to “religious pressure”, Mr Salmond stated: “That’s my recollection.”
Beth Rigby interviewed Alex Salmond on Thursday afternoon
The Scottish health secretary is currently in the running to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister following her shock resignation last month.
After fellow candidate Kate Forbes received backlash over her equal marriage views, Mr Yousaf was questioned over his absence from the historical vote in 2014 and asked if he too would have voted against it.
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SNP leadership candidate Humza Yousaf said he does not believe gay sex is a sin.
Mr Yousaf gave his support to an earlier vote but missed the final one.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Yousaf said his abstention was being “dragged up” for political reasons by “people who are supporting other candidates”.
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Kate Forbes has come under fire for her views on equal marriage and having children out of wedlock
He stated that gay sex was not a sin and told Sophie 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.”
Mr Yousaf has also voiced his support of the Scottish government’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which was subsequently blocked by the UK government.
Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf are all in the running to be the next SNP leader and first minister
‘If I was there I would have voted for it’
When asked about his absence from the 2014 vote, Mr Yousaf said he missed it over the case of a Scottish citizen on death row in Pakistan.
He claimed: “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.”
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However, former health secretary Alex Neil alleged that Mr Yousaf had asked to skip the final vote due to pressure from a mosque.
In one interview, Mr Neil stated that the meeting had been “arranged deliberately to give him cover for the timing of the vote”.
Mr Salmond admitted discussing the issue with people at the time, including Mr Neil, and their memories are reportedly the same.
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‘His memory may be different from mine’
The politician stressed that Mr Yousaf did not need to ask for permission to miss the vote as it was a conscience vote.
Asked what reason was given, Mr Salmond responded: “I didn’t discuss the thing at great length. The assumption was there was pressure.”
He stated it was “no secret” that a lot of religions were “canvassing” politicians over the vote at the time.
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond with Humza Yousaf during the first day of parliamentary business at the Scottish Parliament in 2011
Speaking about Mr Yousaf’s denial, Mr Salmond said: “His memory may be different from mine, let’s put it that way.
“He seems to have a different recollection from what I do or what Alex Neil has, so be it.”
Connor Gillies, Sky News’ Scotland correspondent, questioned Mr Yousaf over Mr Salmond’s claim during the MSP’s campaign visit to Dalkeith in Midlothian later in the afternoon.
Mr Yousaf denied it.
He said: “It is the most predictable political intervention, I have to say.”
Mr Yousaf highlighted that a number of MSPs raised concerns about equal marriage and the bill at the time, but he was not one of them.
He stated: “Time and time again I’ve told you my account, I’ve told you why the meeting was necessary, and people can see my track record.”
Refuting Mr Salmond’s claim, Mr Yousaf said: “Well I have to say, my recollection is very different to Alex Salmond’s recollection. Alex Salmond is also, I think by any objective measure, he has of course backed other candidates in this race.”
When told Mr Salmond has not backed any of the other candidates, Mr Yousaf said the former first minister had “made it pretty clear” that he does not want to see him as leader of the SNP.
When questioned over whether Mr Salmond was “not telling the truth”, Mr Yousaf stated: “My recollection is different to Alex’s. I’m not going to sling mud.”
He added: “Alex Salmond will say what Alex Salmond has said. Alex Neil will say what they say. I will continue to give you my recollection of what happened, the account of what happened.”
Beth Rigby Interviews is live at 9pm every Thursday on Sky News
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World
Body pulled from mine after police cut off supplies to ‘smoke out’ thousands of illegal miners
A body has been recovered from a South African mine after police cut off basic supplies in an effort to force around 4,000 illegal miners to resurface.
The body has emerged from the closed gold mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein a day after South Africa’s government said it would not help the illegal miners.
Around 20 people have surfaced from the mineshaft this week as police wait nearby to arrest all those appearing from underground.
It comes a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to “smoke them [the miners] out”.
The move is part of the police’s “Close the Hole” operation, whereby officers cut off supplies of food, water and other basic necessities to get those who have entered illegally to come out.
Local reports suggest the supply routes were cut off at the mine around two months ago, with relatives of the miners seen in the area as the stand-off continues.
Relatives of miners and community members wait at the mine shaft. Pic: AP
A decomposed body was brought up on Thursday, with pathologists on the scene, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said.
It comes after South African cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Wednesday that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners, known in the country as zama zamas, because they are involved in a criminal act.
“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there,” Ms Ntshavheni said.
An aerial view of a mineshaft. Pic: AP
Senior police and defence officials are expected to visit the area on Friday to “reinforce the government’s commitment to bringing this operation to a safe and lawful conclusion”, according to a media advisory from the police.
In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in South Africa’s North West province, where police have cut off supplies.
Many of the miners were reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies.
Illegal mining remains common in South Africa’s old gold-mining areas, with miners going into closed shafts to dig for any possible remaining deposits.
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Relatives of miners and community members wait near the mine shaft. Pic: AP
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The illegal miners are often from neighbouring countries, and police say the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ the miners.
Their presence in closed mines has also created problems with nearby communities, which complain that the illegal miners commit crimes ranging from robberies to rape.
Illegal mining groups are known to be heavily armed and disputes between rival groups sometimes result in fatal confrontations.
World
Ukrainian frontline commander warns: ‘The world is scared of Russia and losing is not only our problem’
In the courtyard of a farmhouse now home to soldiers of the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanised brigade, I’m introduced to a weary-looking unit by their commander Captain Oleksandr “Sasha” Shyrshyn.
We are about 10km from the border with Russia, and beyond it lies the Kursk region Ukraine invaded in the summer – and where this battalion is now fighting.
The 47th is a crack fighting assault unit.
They’ve been brought to this area from the fierce battles in the country’s eastern Donbas region to bolster Ukrainian forces already here.
War latest: Russia ready to carry out ‘massive attack’
The captain known by his men as ‘Genius’
In the summer, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russian territory, in Kursk
Captain Shyrshyn explains that among the many shortages the military has to deal with, the lack of infantry is becoming a critical problem.
Sasha is just 30 years old, but he is worldly-wise. He used to run an organisation helping children in the country’s east before donning his uniform and going to war.
He is famous in Ukraine and is regarded as one of the country’s top field commanders, who isn’t afraid to express his views on the war and how it’s being waged.
His nom de guerre is ‘Genius’, a nickname given to him by his men.
Captain Sasha Shyrshyn and Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay
‘Don’t worry, it’s not a minefield’
Sasha invited me to see one of the American Bradley fighting vehicles his unit uses.
We walk down a muddy lane before he says it’s best to go cross-country.
“We can go that way, don’t worry it’s not a minefield,” he jokes.
He leads us across a muddy field and into a forest where the vehicle is hidden from Russian surveillance drones that try to hunt both American vehicles and commanders.
Sasha shows me a picture of the house they had been staying in only days before – it was now completely destroyed after a missile strike.
Fortunately, neither he, nor any of his men, were there at the time.
“They target commanders,” he says with a smirk.
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‘The world is scared of Russia’
It takes me a moment or two to realise we are only a few steps away from the Bradley, dug in and well hidden beneath the trees.
The disguised American Bradley vehicle hidden in the forest
Sasha tells me the Bradley is the finest vehicle he has ever used.
A vehicle so good, he says, it’s keeping the Ukrainian army going in the face of Russia’s overwhelming numbers of soldiers.
He explains: “Almost all our work on the battlefield is cooperation infantry with the Bradley. So we use it for evacuations, for moving people from one place to another, as well as for fire-covering.
“This vehicle is very safe and has very good characteristics.”
The American Bradley fighting vehicle that Ukrainian soldiers have found vital in their efforts
Billions of dollars in military aid has been given to Ukraine by the United States, and this vehicle is one of the most valuable assets the US has provided.
Ukraine is running low on men to fight, and the weaponry it has is not enough, especially if it can’t fire long-range missiles into Russia itself – which it is currently not allowed to do.
If President-elect Donald Trump cuts the supply of military aid, the Ukrainians will lose – it’s that simple.
US President-elect Donald Trump has been clear he intends to change his nation’s policy on the war in Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
Sasha says: “We have a lack of weapons, we have a lack of artillery, we have a lack of infantry, and as the world doesn’t care about justice, and they don’t want to finish the war by our win, they are afraid of Russia.
“I’m sorry but they’re scared, they’re scared, and it’s not the right way.”
Like pretty much everyone in Ukraine, Sasha is waiting to see what the US election result will mean for his country.
He is sceptical about a deal with Russia.
“Our enemy only understands the language of power. And you cannot finish the war in 24 hours, or during the year without hard decisions, without a fight, so it’s impossible. It’s just talking without results,” he tells me.
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‘Losing will be not only our problem’
These men expect the fierce battles inside Kursk to intensify in the coming days.
Indeed, alongside the main supply route into Kursk, workers are already building new defensive positions – unfurling miles of razor wire and digging bunkers for the Ukrainian army if it finds itself in retreat.
Barbed wire rolled out in the Sumy region ahead of expected fighting
Tank traps in the Sumy region
Sasha and his men are realistic about support fatigue from the outside world but will keep fighting to the last if they have to.
“I understand this is only our problem, it’s only our issue, and we have to fight this battle, like we have to defend ourselves, it’s our responsibility,” Sasha said.
But he points out everyone should realise just how critical this moment in time is.
“If we look at it widely, we have to understand that us losing will be not only our problem, but it will be for all the world.”
Stuart Ramsay reports from northeastern Ukraine with camera operator Toby Nash, and producers Dominique Van Heerden, Azad Safarov, and Nick Davenport.
A weather warning has been issued for parts of Spain, as the country counts the cost of recent flooding.
The orange warnings are in place for parts of southwestern Spain – the area around Seville down towards Gibraltar.
Up to 8cm (3ins) of rain could fall within 12 hours, but the weekend looks much more settled in the country.
The latest warnings come just two weeks after flash flooding in Valencia and other parts of the country killed more than 200 people.
Malaga saw 14.2cm (5.6ins) of rainfall on Wednesday – Spain’s highest of the day – most of which fell in six hours.
All train services were halted in Malaga. Some flights have now resumed after the initial disruption.
Pic: Jamie Marchant
Emergency services in the province have moved 3,000 people from homes at risk of flooding close to the Guadalhorce River in the west of the city.
Jamie Marchant, 29, from Caerphilly in South Wales travelled to Malaga last Wednesday.
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He told Sky News that “debris” had been left behind by the recent rainfall in the region.
“Everyone is pitching in to clean up and some shops are opening as usual,” he added.
Orange warnings for the Valencia region in eastern Spain expired earlier on Thursday.
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The adverse weather could lead to total insured losses of more than €4bn (£3.33bn), according to credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.
Much of the claims are expected to be covered by the Spanish government’s insurance pool, the agency said, but insurance premiums are likely to increase.
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