HUMZA Yousaf has said it has been “bloody frustrating” dealing with a probe into SNP finances during his start as First Minister.
A police investigation into party finances which has seen both Peter Murrell and Colin Beattie arrested and released without charge remains ongoing.
In an interview with the Daily Record, Yousaf admitted dealing with the issues facing the party has been “bloody frustrating”, but that “it certainly won’t distract me from my job as First Minister”.
He continued: “I must avoid, of course, commenting on a live police investigation. Genuinely, for very good reasons, the First Minister shouldn’t look to prejudice any police investigation.
“I certainly can tell you, as things are now where I am the leader, we’re not operating in a criminal way.”
The Scottish Tories are currently pushing for a statement on the issues facing the SNP, claiming it is “in the public interest”.
Yousaf also said he has still not spoken to his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon even though she has returned to Holyrood.
The First Minister said: “She was back last week for her first full week. We will get the chance, and will speak I hope in relatively short order.”
He also disputed the suggestion the SNP could not fight an independence referendum and pointed to the fact that the party has the “biggest membership of any other political party in the entire country”.
We previously told how Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and LibDems refused to publish their membership numbers.
Douglas Ross later said that the party would release the figure when they next have a leadership election.
Poverty summit
The First Minister also told the newspaper he wanted to be judged on whether poverty levels fall ahead of hosting a summit in Edinburgh.
He signalled he may reverse the roll out of universal free school meals.
“I’ve got a 14-year-old now. Should people be paying for her free school meals when I earn a First Minister’s salary?” he asked.
“I don’t think that’s the right way to use that money. I think the best way to use the money is to target those that need it absolutely the most.”
One of his announcements will mean extra cash to help parents on low incomes to ensure their children can stay in school longer.
Yousaf said: “I’m really pleased to be able to announce £4.5 million of capital funding and that will go to help local authority schools to really actually use in quite a flexible way in whatever they need to do in order to help with school aged childcare – holiday clubs, after school clubs.
“We know how pivotal they are in helping families, particularly from low income households, stay at work or work longer hours if that’s what they’re wanting to do.”
He added: “You get one crack at being First Minister. I want to be judged, absolutely, as somebody who used all the power they have, focused it and made the difficult decisions, even if they were unpopular, all in order to make life better for those who are in the areas of the highest deprivation.”
