With all the focus on Kate Forbes’ social views, it’s perhaps worth another look at Humza Yousaf’s own record on gay marriage. Back in November 2013, the now-favourite to succeed Nicola Sturgeon was a junior minister for External Affairs. He voted that month in favour of the general principles of the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Scotland) Bill; however he subsequently missed the key final vote on 4 February 2014. Nine years on, he is now facing questions about why he did so.
Yousaf claimed at the time that he had a prior meeting he couldn’t avoid. He wrote on Twitter: ‘Had ministerial engagement arranged beforehand but signed pledge, voted for stage one and v public about my (continued) support!’ Pressed on whether his absence had been ‘unavoidable’, Yousaf replied: ‘Meeting Pakistan Consul discussing Scot on death row accused under Blasphemy Law not one could/want avoid.’ Some investigative snooping by the Herald suggests that this appears to be a reference to Mohammad Asghar, an elderly man from Edinburgh with a history of mental illness.
However Yousaf arranged his meeting with the consul two days after being told to be in parliament for the vote, and a week before Mr Ashgar was sentenced. A parliamentary question by then Labour MSP Mary Fee found that then minister for parliamentary business Joe FitzPatrick requested on 14 January 2014 that Yousaf be present in the chamber for the gay marriage vote.
Two days later, on 16 January, Yousaf himself requested a meeting with the Pakistan Consul General in Glasgow on the day of the vote, 19 days later, thereby creating a clash. Yet it was more than a week later, on 24 January, that Ashgar was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan, meaning his ‘death row’ status was *not* known when Yousaf set up the meeting with the Pakistan Consul General.
The implication from Yousaf at the time was that this was an urgent, desperate attempt to save a Scotsman’s life. But at the time the meeting was arranged, the man in question had not yet been sentenced to death. Moreover, if it was that urgent then why allow 19 days before a meeting with the Consul General? Surely he could have been executed in that lengthy period? Sky News tried to put such questions to Yousaf this afternoon but the Health Secretary claimed such queries were pure politicking.
Mr S himself asked Yousaf’s campaign for clarification but answers came there none…
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