The next leader of the SNP could be “crowned… with no contest”, the Scottish Conservatives have claimed, after Humza Yousaf stepped down from the role on Monday.

Mr Yousaf – who has been leader and first minister of Scotland for just over a year – announced his resignation after his decision last week to cut power-sharing ties with the Scottish Green Party saw his leadership collapse.

Now the focus is moving onto who will replace him with nominations now open until midday on Monday 6 June.

Former deputy of the party John Swinney appears to be leading the pack.

Politics live: Next Scottish FM tipped to be ‘crowned with no contest’

Mr Swinney – was was Nicola Sturgeon’s number two between 2014 and 2023 – has yet to confirm he is running for the leadership, telling Sky News he was “giving very careful consideration” to the decision.

But senior figures have already given him their backing, with the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn telling Sky News: “Serious times demand serious politics and serious people, and the best person to take that forward now for the Scottish Nationalist Party is John Swinney.”

He may not have a straight path to victory, however, with sources close to Kate Forbes – who lost out to Mr Yousaf during last year’s leadership contest – saying the MSP was also “actively considering” another run for the top job.

Speaking to the Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross said he didn’t think there would be a contest though.

“My reading of the situation now is John Swinney will be crowned as SNP leader with no contest, and I think as soon as next week there will be a vote in the Scottish Parliament to elect him as the first minister,” he said.

“You’ve seen countless senior politicians both here at Westminster and in Edinburgh back John Swinney. Of course, it’s the same John Swinney that last year ruled himself out and said it’s time for fresh talent to come through.”

He added: “That’s not really going to be a change, it’ll be more of the same, that’s focusing on independence at the expense of the real priorities that people across Scotland have.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Meanwhile, former first minister and now leader of rival party Alba Alex Salmond has been expressing sympathy for Mr Yousaf, telling Sophy Ridge it was “a great wrench” to leave the role.

But he questioned whether those around the outgoing leader were “acting in his best interests”, hinting at a plot to oust him in favour of Mr Swinney.

Asked whether the contest would be a “stitch up” by “the boys club” at the top of the SNP – as party MP Joanna Cherry suggested earlier – the current deputy leader, Keith Brown, said no.

He told Sophy Ridge: “The majority of the cabinet are female and of course we had a very lengthy period with a female leader, so anybody can come forward for this contest.”

However, Mr Brown gave his support to Mr Swinney, saying he was “somebody who is experienced and somebody who will bring unity hopefully to the parliament but also to the party”.

The Duchess of Edinburgh has become the first member of the Royal Family to visit Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Sophie’s trip was to “demonstrate solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war”, said Buckingham Palace.

The palace also said it was a continuation of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

The duchess, 59, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the first lady Olena Zelenska.

Sophie, who is a full-time working member of the Royal Family, also delivered a private message to them in a letter from the King.

The royal visited the site of a mass grave in Bucha where victims of the Russian occupation were buried.

The duchess laid flowers at a memorial that contains the names of the victims.

Early on in the war after Russian forces left the town, a number of dead bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs – seemingly shot at close range. President Vladimir Putin’s troops are accused of war crimes there, including executions and rapes.

During her visit, the duchess also met survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and survivors of torture, said the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

And she met children who have now been safely returned to Ukraine, after being forcibly separated from their families and taken by Russia.

She also met female volunteers who have helped their communities cope with the aftermath of attacks with mental healthcare activities for children.

In a speech during her visit, Sophie said: “It’s true that women and girls pay the highest price in terms of human cost when it comes to the way that they are affected, the way that they can be used as weapons of war.

“Rape is used to demean, to degrade and to destroy, and we have to get better at trying to prevent that from happening.”

She added: “I’ve been meeting with survivors of sexual violence and the conflict. I thank them for that honesty in telling me what happened to them. Their stories are sad… but I appreciate their time and their openness.”

As part of her trip, Sophie visited the “Road to Life” in Irpin, also known as the Romanivska Bridge, that was blown up to stop Mr Putin’s troops proceeding to Kyiv, and later became a key route for people fleeing to safety from the Russian occupation.

The royal also visited the Saint Sophia Cathedral with the first lady in the capital Kyiv.

The Ukraine trip was at the request of the FCDO.

In the two years since the war began on 24 February 2022, at least 10,582 civilians have been killed and 19,875 injured in conflict-related violence in the country, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

Those killed include 5,017 men, 3,093 women, 311 boys and 248 girls.

The King, when he was Prince of Wales, visited Ukraine in 1996. As monarch, he sent a message of support to the people of Ukraine on the second anniversary of the war.

He wrote: “Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely. Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression.”

In March 2023, Prince William visited Poland to thank British and Polish troops involved in providing support to Ukraine, before meeting refugees who have fled the conflict with Russia to hear of their experiences.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

Sophie announced her commitment to champion the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS) on International Women’s Day in 2019.

Over the years, the duchess has visited a number of countries to highlight the impact of historical and ongoing conflict.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

They include Kosovo, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia.

And she has heard first-hand testimonies from survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

A dad who suffered a brain injury just days after receiving a British-developed COVID vaccine has told Sky News he would never have had the jab if he had known of the risk of rare but serious side effects.

Jamie Scott, who has two young boys and is now unable to work, is suing AstraZeneca for what he says is damage caused by the jab in April 2021.

He alleges the pharmaceutical giant exaggerated the vaccine’s effectiveness and downplayed its risks.

AstraZeneca denies the claims made against them.

In his first TV interview, Mr Scott told Sky News: “I took it to protect the elderly people around me.

“AstraZeneca and the government need to explain the risk whenever you take medicine. If there’s a risk – I’ve got a young family – I would never have taken it.”

Ten days after having his first dose of the vaccine, Mr Scott woke up with a severe headache, started vomiting and had trouble speaking.

He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a clot that was stopping blood draining from his brain, as well as a haemorrhage in the brain itself.

He had surgery and was in a coma for just over a month. His wife Kate was told that if he survived he would never be the same again.

Mr Scott now has a poor memory, has trouble reading, writing, listening and speaking, is partially blind in both eyes and suffers from pain and fatigue.

He says he can’t drive or play an active part in his boys’ lives.

“Everything about me has changed. Everything is difficult,” he said.

“I am happy to be alive. But I’m a shadow of what I was and every day is difficult.”

There are 51 cases lodged with the High Court with people claiming damage as a result of vaccination. Some are bereaved relatives.

Mr Scott was given a payout of £120,000 from the government’s Vaccine Damage Payment (VDP) scheme.

But that comes nowhere near to replacing the career income he would have received as an IT professional.

“If Jamie was in a car crash there would have been insurance to cover the injuries and loss of income,” said Mrs Scott.

“We should not have to lose our house, or not be able to afford to fix our cooker when it breaks down or not be able to take the kids on holiday.

“If VDP was reformed, we would not have to litigate.”

To be given the full £120,000 payout from the vaccine damage scheme claimants have to be assessed as at least 60% disabled. Those with a lower degree of disability – which can still be life-changing – don’t qualify.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was developed by scientists at the University of Oxford. It went through accelerated testing and licensing because of the urgency of the pandemic and was authorised for emergency supply in December 2020.

The government and many doctors assured the public that the vaccine was safe and urged people to take the jab.

But in the spring of 2021, there were reports around Europe of people suffering unusual blood clotting several days after vaccination.

Sarah Moore, a lawyer at Leigh Day Solicitors who is representing Mr Scott and the other claimants, told Sky News: “As early as the beginning of March in 2021, other European countries had withdrawn or suspended this product from the market because they had seen this problem.

“Our argument is that on the date upon which Jamie’s vaccine was applied, there was no warning.

“Now, if you are going to take a healthy person and give them any medical product, then generally most people would accept that has to be a warning within the product literature that specifies that risk, particularly when we’re talking about the gravity of risk in this context.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

AstraZeneca says it updated product information for the vaccine in April 2021 to reflect the possibility in very rare cases that it could be a trigger for thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome.

In a statement, it said: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.

“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”

Read more from Sky News:
Man admits killing mobility scooter rider
Humza Yousaf resigns as Scotland’s first minister

The Department of Health and Social Care said it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation or specific cases.

It added that the AstraZeneca jab hasn’t been used in the UK since the start of the booster programme in the autumn of 2021 because alternative mRNA vaccines were shown to be more effective.

However, the vaccine has been widely used around the world. In the first year of use, more than two billion doses were given, saving an estimated six million lives.

At the time of the rollout – and since – there has been a vocal minority of people who campaigned against COVID vaccines.

But Mr and Mrs Scott say they are not anti-vaxxers.

Mrs Scott said: “I would say we are vaccine-hesitant now because if it goes wrong you are left out in the cold.

“There has to be protection for those people who did the right thing when the government said it was safe and effective, time and time again.

“Even now if you try and question that narrative you’re shut down and told that’s anti-vax – and it just can’t be.”