Humza Yousaf has said it is “increasingly difficult” to shield his children from racism after he was targeted with Islamophobic graffiti near his Dundee home.

Racist slurs relating to the Scottish first minister’s Pakistani heritage were sprayed on the walls and fences of homes in a street in Broughty Ferry, on Monday.

It is near to where the first minister lives with his wife and two children.

The graffiti, which has since been removed, happened on the day the Scottish government’s controversial new hate crime laws came into force.

Mr Yousaf, who became Scotland’s first Muslim and ethnic minority first minister last March, posted on X: “I do my best to shield my children from the racism and Islamophobia I face on a regular basis. That becomes increasingly difficult when racist graffiti targeting me appears near our family home.

“A reminder of why we must, collectively, take a zero-tolerance approach to hatred.”

It is not the first time Mr Yousaf has responded to Islamophobia targeted at his family.

Mr Yousaf, whose in-laws were trapped in Gaza for about a month before fleeing through Egypt, said in January that Muslim and Palestinian lives were viewed as “cheap” and “different”.

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Last month, he also condemned “Islamophobic attacks” on his family as he denied claims a government donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) was a conflict of interest.

Police Scotland is investigating the graffiti and said “inquiries are ongoing”.

The SNP said: “This graffiti was sickening and completely unacceptable. It is a reminder why we need to take a zero-tolerance approach to hatred.

“We are grateful to the authorities for acting to remove it so quickly because this type of vile, racist language can have a serious impact on the individuals, families, and wider community who are forced to see it.

“Racism has absolutely no place in our society and everyone must play their part to challenge it.”