Humza Yousaf admits ending Greens deal was his mistake

Former first minister Humza Yousaf has said terminating a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens was his mistake.

The move led to the ex-SNP leader’s resignation earlier this year as he faced motions of no confidence.

Mr Yousaf told an LBC event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe he was considering whether to continue as an MSP.

He also said he could not say with "certainty" that his daughters would not be attacked because of the colour of their skin.

Mr Yousaf resigned as first minister in May as he faced motions of no confidence in him and his government.

He said at the time he had "underestimated" the level of hurt caused by his decision to end a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens in April.

The breakdown came after a Green backlash against the SNP government’s decision to row back on climate targets and gender policies. It left the SNP with a minority administration at Holyrood.

Mr Yousaf said the relationship came under strain following an interview by Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie in which he says Mr Harvie refused to accept the Cass review into gender services for children in England was a scientific document.

The former first minster said ordinarily "reasonable, supportive" people in his party -and not only the “usual malcontents” - told him that Mr Harvie's comments had made the Bute House Agreement “very difficult to sustain”.

Mr Yousaf then used an expletive to take full blame for the decision to end the deal with the Greens, adding: "It was my choice.”

He said he had calculated his administration could fend off opposition votes of no confidence with the support of Alba MSP Ash Regan.

He told the Edinburgh event that deal became “impossible” when Alba leader and former first minister Alex Salmond proposed an electoral pact with the SNP.

“There was no way I was going to play a part in rehabilitating Alex Salmond in the political bubble,” he said.

He then said: “I could have done a deal (with Alba) that went against my principles, that would have saved my skin.

“It would have got me the votes I needed but I wasn’t going to do that.”

A spokesperson for the Alba Party said: "There was no reference to an electoral pact in the proposals that would have saved Humza’s job - he knows that because he described them as sensible at the time."

Asked about the SNP's heavy general election defeat to Scottish Labour, Mr Yousaf said he accepted an “element of responsibility”.

He said that he was not dealt “the easiest hand” after taking over from Nicola Sturgeon in March 2023.

“I think anybody who was a past leader of the SNP in recent years has got to reflect very seriously," he added.

Asked if he would consider running for first minister again, the 39-year-old replied: “No.”

He said he did not know if he would stand to be an MSP in the 2026 Holyrood election, telling LBC: “I’ll make that decision probably next year.”

Mr Yousaf, Scotland's first ethnic minority leader, said earlier this week he had questioned whether he and his family have a future in Scotland or the UK due to Islamophobia.

It came after violent riots in other parts of the UK.

He said: “Scotland has not had race riots and long may that continue but let’s not pretend Scotland doesn’t have racism and Islamophobia.

"In fact, people in Scotland have been charged on numerous occasions and found guilty of racism, death threats, Islamophobia against me."

Mr Yousaf said he was not planning on leaving Scotland but that he and other Muslim people he had spoken to were considering their futures.

He added: “Could I say that my daughters would be safe as people of colour, as Muslims?

"If the girls choose to wear a hijab in the future could I say that they won’t get attacked because of the colour of their skin, or because of their faith? I can’t say that with any certainty.”

Mr Yousaf also branded Elon Musk “one of the most dangerous men on the planet”.

The billionaire owner has been highly critical of the UK authorities and the way the disorder has been handled.

He has come under fire for promoting a conspiracy theory about the UK building "detainment camps" on the Falkland Islands for rioters.

He later deleted the image from his page. Posted by the co-leader of the far-right Britain First party, the image was faked to look like it had come from the Daily Telegraph website.

Mr Musk has not acknowledged he published then deleted the post. The BBC has approached X for comment.

Mr Yousaf accused the tech entrepreneur of "using his wealth to amplify the far right".