Humza Yousaf dismisses accusations he broke ministerial code

Humza Yousaf has dismissed claims made by The Indian Council of Scotland that he broke the ministerial code.

The health secretary and the Care Inspectorate were both criticised by the council in their handling of a case against a Dundee nursery accused of discriminating against his daughter.

The complaint was upheld by the Care Inspectorate after Yousaf’s two-year-old daughter was refused twice by Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry.

In a post on Facebook, the council criticised the MSP and said it had lodged an official complaint with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

They wrote: “We, at The Indian Council of Scotland, have once again made an official complaint to the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon MSP on the breach of ministerial code by the health minister, Humza Yousaf MSP with regards to his conduct in regards to the children’s nursery in Broughty Ferry and we have put in an official complaint with regards to the conduct of the Care Inspectorate and ask for an independent enquiry.

“The Health Minister Humza Yousaf, has clearly broken the ministerial code, in our view, many times and his conduct is not only unacceptable, but he is unbecoming of a Scottish government minister role.”

Speaking to STV News, Yousaf said it was “unfortunate” that the council had sought to “besmirch” the name and reputation of the nursery.

“It’s a fascinating investigation by the Indian Council when they haven’t spoken to me or my wife,” he said.

“It seems to me that if you were going to carry out an investigation into discrimination of my daughter, then you should probably speak to us.

“It seems that they’re also trying to besmirch the name and reputation of the Care Inspectorate, I think that’s unfortunate.

“They’re an independent regulator, and their report, well, they’ve already spoken about the fact that they’ve upheld our complaint.”