Kate Forbes leaves Scottish government after rejecting demotion from new first minister Humza Yousaf

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

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Kate Forbes has rejected a job offer from Scotland’s new first minister Humza Yousaf and will return to the backbenches after serving in government for almost five years.

A senior source told Sky News that Ms Forbes, who narrowly lost the SNP leadership race to Mr Yousaf on Monday, was asked to take on the role of rural affairs secretary – a big demotion from her previous role as finance secretary.

But the source said she turned down the position, meaning she will leave the frontbench and return to focusing on her job as a constituency MSP.

Tweeting after the news broke, Ms Forbes did not confirm the job offer or rejection, instead saying Mr Yousaf had her “full support as he governs well [and] furthers the case for independence”.

She added: “I have full confidence he will appoint a talented cabinet andministerial team, able to meet the challenges facing the country.”

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After former health secretary Mr Yousaf was named as the successor to Nicola Sturgeon on Monday – following her shock resignation last month – he suggested he would offer both Ms Forbes and his other rival, Ash Regan, roles in his new cabinet.

“We are no longer team Humza, Ash or Kate,” he said. “We are one team. And we will be the team, we will be the generation that delivers independence for Scotland.”

But Ms Forbes’s rejection casts a shadow on the protestations of unity from all three candidates after the result was announced.

It is not yet clear which role might be offered to Ms Regan, or whether she would accept it.

However, one new position that has been confirmed is deputy first minister, which will be taken by former health secretary and social justice secretary Shona Robison.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed on Tuesday he had spoken to Mr Yousaf to congratulate him on his new job.

In a tweet, he added: “I’m looking forward to working with him to deliver on the priorities that matter most to people across Scotland – from cutting NHS waiting lists to growing our economy.”

Mr Yousaf also tweeted that the pair had “a constructive discussion on a range of issues, including helping people through the cost-of-living crisis”.

He added: “I also made clear that I expect the democratic wishes of Scotland’s people and parliament to be respected by the UK government.”

Leadership clashes

The contest to become Scotland’s new first minister got personal at times, particularly with clashes between Mr Yousaf and Ms Forbes, who were considered the frontrunners.

During a TV debate, she attacked his record in government, suggesting there would be a place for him in her cabinet but “maybe not at health”.

After she accused him of being the “continuity” candidate, Mr Yousaf said: “If change means lurching to the right, Kate, if it means rolling back on progressive values, that’s not the right change.”

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Ms Forbes also faced a backlash during the race over her views, having said she would have voted against gay marriage in Scotland at the time it was made legal almost a decade ago.

She later told Sky News that her faith as a member of the Free Church of Scotland also meant having children outside of marriage is “wrong” and something she personally would “seek to avoid”.

World

Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

Published

3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

The Belgian government has said it will officially recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this month.

The country’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, announced it will join the UK, France, Canada, and Australia in recognising a Palestinian state.

Belgium will also introduce “firm sanctions” against the Israeli government, he said, including a ban on imports from West Bank settlements and possible judicial prosecutions.

The Israeli foreign ministry and its Belgian embassy have not yet commented on the announcement.

However, its foreign ministry previously said the UK’s plan to recognise Palestine “constitutes a reward for Hamas”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced in July that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions, those being:

• Israel takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“

• Israel agrees to a ceasefire

• Israel commits to a long-term sustainable peace – reviving the prospect of a two-state solution

• Israel must allow the UN to restart the supply of aid

• There must be no annexations in the West Bank

In response, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.”

The UN General Assembly session in New York will begin on 9 September. Ireland, Spain, and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.

Out of the 193 United Nations member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state as of March 2025.

Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio revoked the visas of 81 delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – blocking them from attending the general assembly.

Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is now more than 63,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

It added that nine more people, including three children, died of malnutrition and starvation over Monday, raising deaths from such causes to at least 348, including 127 children.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.

World

Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump’s aid cuts

Published

3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump's aid cuts

Earthquakes represent a constant danger in Afghanistan – a country which sits across three geological fault lines.

This most recent rupture near the city of Jalalabad – leaving more than 800 people dead – represents the third major quake in the past four years.

But the people of this impoverished nation are vulnerable in a number of ways.

The impact of foreign aid cuts

Since the Taliban took control in 2021, the international community has withdrawn much of the financial support which formed the bulk of government spending in Afghanistan.

Even humanitarian aid, which generally bypasses government institutions, has shrunk substantially – from $3.8bn (£2.8bn) in 2022 to $767m (£566.6m) this year.

The US government, through its international development arm USAID, provided 45% of all assistance granted to Afghanistan last year – but the Trump administration has slashed those sums.

The UK, along with France, Germany, Sweden, and others have also made deep cuts to humanitarian aid.

As a consequence, hundreds of hospitals and local health clinics in the country have been shut this year and related medical posts have been lost.

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This crisis comes as the country tries to absorb millions of people who fled when the Taliban took power. More than two million have come back this year, with Pakistan and Iran taking measures to force their return.

On arrival, they discover a country where more than half the population requires urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the UN – with millions suffering from acute food insecurity.

Large parts of northern Afghanistan have been stricken with the long-term drought.

A catastrophe compounded in a nation that ranks as one of the poorest – and most desperate – on Earth.

World

More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

Published

3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a landslide in a village in western Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) has said.

The rebel group said only one survivor was found, and that the village in the Marrah Mountains area, in the Darfur region, was destroyed.

SLM leader Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement that the landslide struck on Sunday, 31 August, after days of heavy rainfall.

He appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies for help in recovering the bodies.

The SLM controls the area located in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

Fleeing the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), residents had sought shelter in the Marrah Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.

In January, the US determined that the RSF and its militias were committing genocide in Sudan.

The RSF rejected the claim and said: “America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong.”

The RSF has been fighting Sudan’s army for territorial control of the country since war erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

The ensuing devastation has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded – with over 11 million people forced out of their homes, tens of thousands dead, and 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Minni Minnawi, leader of a faction of the group, said in March last year that 1,500 troops would support the Sudanese army in the civil war against the RSF, according to the Sudan Tribune.