SNP leadership campaign: Independence and poll woes – key moments of fiery Sky News debate
The SNP’s three leadership candidates engaged in a fiery clash during a live Sky News debate as they failed to agree on several issues.
Ash Regan, Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf are battling it out to replace Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after she announced she was stepping down last month.
Taking part in a live debate on Sky News, hosted by political editor Beth Rigby, the trio tried to win over SNP voters moments after an exclusive Sky/YouGov poll found 54% of Scots want to remain part of the UK.
These are the key moments from the hour-long debate on Monday evening:
Independence
The whole reason for the SNP’s existence – but the trio could not agree on whether it is top of their agendas.
Asked if it was their top priority, Ms Regan said Scotland was suffering disproportionately from being in the UK while Ms Forbes said her priorities are the cost of living and public services.
Mr Yousaf, seen as the continuity candidate, was the only one who answered with a straight answer, saying: “Yes, independence is my top priority.”
Regan’s Scottish currency plans
Ms Regan was grilled on her plans for establishing a Scottish currency after saying earlier in the campaign one could be introduced quickly after independence.
But she struggled to explain exactly how that would come about and what other issues would have to be addressed if Scotland becomes independent.
She said she would set up a commission to establish plans for a new monetary system but pressed on what institutions are needed for that she only said a central bank.
Ash Regan
Ms Regan admitted she could not give “the full details at this point” and insisted she only meant she could introduce a new currency within two months of independence if all the plans had been established beforehand by a commission.
Asked by Mr Yousaf what she would do if she became first minister in two weeks, Mr Regan said she would make the A9 road a dual carriageway but admitted she could not determine how much that would cost.
Polls, polls, polls
The trio, especially Mr Yousaf and Ms Forbes, bickered over who was more popular with the public.
Mr Yousaf insisted the momentum is behind him, despite some polls making for pretty grim reading.
He put himself over as the candidate that is popular with SNP voters, while Ms Forbes claimed she had the backing of more Scots overall.
But, in the end, it is only the SNP members who matter as they – not the wider voters – will determine who wins the leadership of their party.
Mr Yousaf accused Ms Forbes of losing SNP supporters as he boasted about overtaking her in the polls but she said she was “ahead in key metrics”.
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Humza Yousaf
The Sky News poll released on Monday afternoon found 44% thought Mr Yousaf would be a bad leader, while Ms Regan came in at 39% and 36% for Ms Forbes.
But he batted off suggestions he had been a bad health minister, saying finance minister Ms Forbes had not been in a service delivery role while he has had “the most difficult and toughest jobs” in government for decades (health, transport and justice).
He defended his record as health secretary, which he started in 2021, saying waiting times were down due to the pandemic and Scotland had a speedy COVID booster roll out.
Ms Regan admitted her name is not so well-known but said she is “far from a rookie”, having been in government for nearly five years.
“I’m definitely less well known than the others but a good first minister does not depend on how well known they are but on their abilities, their plan and a good team,” she said.
Conversion therapy, same-sex marriage and JK Rowling
Ms Forbes made headlines early in the campaign after saying her faith means having children outside of marriage is “wrong”.
Asked about unmarried and gay married couples, she told the debate “I certainly don’t disapprove” and said she would “defend the rights of everybody in Scotland to live without harassment and fear”.
She went in strong on whether a plan to ban conversion therapy should go ahead, saying: “Conversion therapy is abhorrent.”
But she got a bit tangled up when asked about people who wanted it done to themselves, saying people “should be allowed to live freely as they choose, I do not think there should be conversion therapy in Scotland”.
Kate Forbes
Mr Yousaf tried to exploit Ms Forbes’ perceived weakness with SNP voters on social issues by suggesting she is “abandoning the progressive agenda” of the party.
He claimed: “With SNP voters, the momentum is with me.”
However, Sky News polling suggests Ms Forbes is most popular with Scots, if not with SNP members.
All three were asked if JK Rowling is a national treasure following her remarks about trans people, with Ms Regan and Ms Forbes agreeing she is and was “very brave” to talk out.
Mr Yousaf agreed she is a national treasure for her books “but I disagree vehemently with her view on trans rights”.
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Is JK Rowling a national treasure?
Labour?
The candidates were asked if they would work with Labour if they were to win the next general election as polls suggest.
Ms Regan and Ms Forbes said they would while Mr Yousaf said he would “work with anyone to kick out the Tories”.
Mr Yousaf said his price to work with Labour would be if they gave him the power to hold another referendum.
The other two also agreed on that but differed in their opinions of the Labour Party.
Mr Yousaf called Sir Keir Starmer a “pale imitation” of a Tory and Ms Forbes said she would “always side with fellow progressive parties”.
World
Trump doubles down on Putin criticism – as Russia offers Ukraine a date and location for peace talks
Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Vladimir Putin – adding he will know soon if the Russian leader is just “tapping” him along.
The US president told reporters at the White House that he believed his counterpart in Moscow may be intentionally delaying ceasefire talks, while he also expressed disappointment at heavy Russian bombing over the weekend.
While Mr Trump has so far stopped short of imposing sanctions – to avoid, he says, “screwing up” negotiations – he warned his stance could change.
Ukraine Q&A: Are we any closer to war ending?
The president said: “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little differently,” adding that he “can’t tell you” if Mr Putin wanted peace.
Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
His comments in the Oval Office came minutes after Russia’s foreign minister announced that the Kremlin had offered Ukraine a second round of talks on 2 June in Istanbul.
Kyiv did not immediately respond to the proposal, which Sergei Lavrov said would see Moscow hand their proposals for a potential peace deal directly to Ukraine.
“We hope that all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support holding a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul,” Mr Lavrov added.
Later on Wednesday, Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said his government was “not against” further meetings, but called for Russia to deliver its memorandum to Kyiv beforehand.
Meanwhile, Mr Lavrov also hit out at Germany for agreeing to finance the production of long-range missiles in Ukraine, accusing Berlin of showing it is “already a participant in the war”.
However, German leader Friedrich Merz declined to say that his country would hand over the Taurus missiles that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who was in Berlin on Wednesday – has long wanted.
Ukraine’s need for ammunition has become all the more urgent after Russia launched some of the largest aerial assaults of the war so far over the weekend.
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Russia said it had downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions overnight, while Ukraine said it had struck several weapon production sites.
Kyiv, in turn, said Moscow had launched 88 drones and five ballistic missiles since Tuesday.
World
Hamas’s Gaza chief ‘eliminated’, says Netanyahu – but military sources say they cannot confirm death
Hamas’s Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been “eliminated”, according to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Israeli military sources have said they are not yet able to confirm the death.
Hamas has also not yet confirmed the apparent killing of its leader.
Meanwhile, with Gaza on the brink of famine, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of its people.
Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of people in Gaza
Riyah Mansour told the Security Council: “Children are dying of starvation. The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies. Caressing their hair, talking to them, apologising to them, is unbearable.”
He added: “I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. And to see this situation over the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate. Flames and hunger are devouring Palestinian children. This is why we are so outraged as Palestinians everywhere.”
Sinwar was one of Israel‘s most wanted and the younger brother of the Palestinian militant group’s former leader Yahya Sinwar.
The older sibling was the mastermind of the October 7 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, with around 250 others taken hostage into Gaza.
The attack triggered Israel’s assault on Gaza which decimated the territory, with more than 53,000 people killed, mostly women and children, and over two million displaced, according to health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally of fatalities.
Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israel in October 2024. File pic: AP
Yahya Sinwar was killed in a gun battle with Israeli troops in Gaza last October. His younger sibling was believed to have then become the head of Hamas’s armed wing.
Speaking to the Knesset on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu included Mohammed Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes. Later, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) sources said they were not yet able to confirm the death.
The prime minister said: “We have killed tens of thousands of terrorists. We killed (Mohammed) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar.” He did not elaborate.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s claimed could not be confirmed. Pic: AP
Mohammed Sinwar had reportedly been the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on 13 May and Mr Netanyahu said on 21 May that it was likely he had been killed.
The Israeli military had said it struck a Hamas command centre under the European Hospital in the Sinwars’ hometown of Khan Younis, and it declined to comment on whether Sinwar was targeted or killed.
At least six people were killed in the strike and 40 wounded, Gaza’s health ministry said at the time.
Sinwar rose through ranks
Like his older brother, Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas after it was founded in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He became a member of the group’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades.
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Sinwar rose through the ranks to become a member of its so-called joint chiefs of staff, bringing him close to its longtime commander, Deif, who was killed in a strike last year.
Read more from Sky News:
Humanitarian chief talks of Gaza ‘catastrophe’
UN boss condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza
“In the last two days, we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas,” the Israeli leader told the Knesset.
Mr Netanyahu also spoke about how Israel was “taking control of food distribution”, a reference to a new aid distribution system that has been criticised and boycotted by humanitarian groups and the UN.
One killed at site of aid hub
The development comes after one person was killed and 48 others injured when forces opened fire on a crowd that overwhelmed an aid hub in Gaza, according to local health officials.
Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food after almost three months of Israeli border closures. A blockade has recently been eased.
People broke through fences around the distribution site on Wednesday, and a journalist with the Associated Press said they heard Israeli tank and gunfire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others.
The Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which set up the hub outside Rafah, said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.
The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system, saying it will not meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food to control the population.
Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and fight until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the last 58 hostages, including around a third thought to be still alive.
‘This is a man-made catastrophe’
Meanwhile, a US trauma surgeon who has been working in Gaza urged the UN Security Council to not “claim ignorance” about the humanitarian devastation.
Dr Feroze Sidhwa said: “Let’s not forget, this is a man-made catastrophe. It is entirely preventable. Participating in it or not allowing it to happen is a choice.
“This is a deliberate denial of conditions necessary for life: food, shelter, water and medicine. Preventing genocide means refusing to normalise these atrocities.”
The UN World Health Organization has documented around 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza during the war. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide fighters.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have been charged with rape and other offences in the UK.
Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges, including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, relating to three women.
His brother Tristan Tate, 36, faces 11 charges relating to one woman – including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.
The charges were authorised in January 2024, but full details have only been released now.
Bedfordshire Police issued an international arrest warrant for the brothers over allegations, which they “unequivocally deny”, said to have occurred between 2012 and 2015.
The Tate brothers are facing separate allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.
They are also accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in a different case, which has been sent back to prosecutors.
They are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan outside a Bucharest court in January. File pic: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via Reuters
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have authorised charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate for offences including rape, human trafficking, controlling prostitution and actual bodily harm against three women.
“These charging decisions followed receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.
“A European Arrest Warrant was issued in England in 2024, and as a result the Romanian courts ordered the extradition to the UK of Andrew and Tristan Tate.”
The spokesperson added: “However, the domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendants have the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
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Representatives for Andrew Tate have been contacted by Sky News for comment.
Lawyer Matt Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners, representing several alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, said: “We welcome the clarity from the Crown Prosecution Service that our authorities are working to ensure the Tates face justice here in the UK – they cannot be allowed to escape extradition.
“At the same time, we ask once more that CPS admit its mistake in failing to prosecute Tate when he lived in the UK and finally charge him for the rape and assault of the other three women, our clients, who originally filed criminal complaints against him as long ago as 2014 but were failed by the system.
“They deserve justice, too.”
The allegations were subject to a police investigation, which was closed in 2019.
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