Yousaf accused of breaking ministerial code after parents-in-law put on ‘priority list’ for Gaza evacuation

Humza Yousaf has been accused of breaking the ministerial code after using his office to lobby Whitehall to put his parents-in-law on a “priority list” for evacuations from Gaza.

Official documents have revealed the former Scottish First Minister attempted to get his family moved “nearer the front of the queue” as his parents-in-law sought refuge via neighbouring Egypt.

Documents, released through Freedom of Information requests, revealed Yousaf’s private office tried to lobby Foreign Office officials and Ministers.

Yousaf secured a personal phone call with former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on November 1.

He was told his family had been added to the “priority list” of British nationals trying to flee Gaza.

Yousaf, who was toppled as First Minister in May after the Green Party pulled its support, was given the welcome news two days later that his mother-in-law and father-in-law were given safe passage out of Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

The Telegraph has revealed that Yousaf also secured a call with Middle East Minister Lord Ahmed on October 10.

The pair discussed “the ongoing situation in Israel/Gaza, specifically with regards to his parents-in-law”.

Yousaf later exchanged WhatsApp messages and emails with officials.

Stephen Kerr, a Conservative MSP and former member of Scotland’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, told The Telegraph: “Which of us, in Humza Yousaf’s desperate position, would not have mentioned family members trapped in Gaza at such a dangerous time to the Foreign Secretary, if we had the chance?

“We shouldn’t question his motives but as a public servant, we have every right to question his methods. The rules are very clear.”

He added: “And we must also put ourselves in the position of other families in Scotland worried about relatives trapped in Gaza, who were not able to have a word in the Foreign Secretary’s ear and get their family moved nearer the front of the queue for evacuation.”

The latest revelations come after Yousaf overrode officials to give £250,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

However, a Scottish Government spokesperson claimed the suggestion that Yousaf secured preferential treatment is “completely untrue”.

They said: “The former first minister consistently sought assurances that the UK Government was doing everything it could to ensure the safety of all British citizens in Gaza.

“The former First Minister made the Permanent Secretary aware of the situation with his family immediately that it arose. It was also widely and publicly known.”

A Foreign Office spokesman added: “No preferential treatment was given to the former first minister or his family.

“FCDO Ministers spoke with him at the time to update him on the conflict in the Middle East.

“As part of these wider conversations, they discussed his family’s personal circumstances”.