HUMZA Yousaf has defended taking his 12-year-old step-daughter on a trip to the Harry Potter studio following criticism from the Conservatives.
The Sun reported that the SNP Health Secretary visited the Warner Bros. exhibition near London to celebrate the end of the school term.
But the Tories accused him of "unbelievable and terrible judgement" by taking a holiday amid a hike in coronavirus cases, with Scotland home to some of the worst-hit regions in Europe.
Scottish Tory chief whip Stephen Kerr said: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going - to Harry Potter World.
"Unbelievable and terrible judgement from the Cab. Sec for Health.
“I imagine Mr Yousaf will be hearing a few unforgivable curses when he returns to his colleagues in Holyrood.”
Mr Kerr told The Sun: “Families across Scotland who are feeling the effects of the third wave of Covid will be appalled that the SNP’s Health Secretary thought it appropriate to take a trip down to London at this time.
“We are seeing thousands of cases a day in Scotland, with hundreds in hospital, and people still tragically losing their lives to the virus.
“People are continuing to make huge sacrifices to ensure we can return to normality and that will include missing out on holidays.
“Humza Yousaf should have reconsidered this trip at such a critical time in our fight against Covid and ensured that he was fully focused on the day job, rather than diverting his attention towards all things Harry Potter-related.”
Responding to the Tory criticisms on Twtter, Mr Yousaf said: “Don't usually comment on stories about me, but I'll make an exception.
“Most important job I have is being a good father, step-father & husband to my wife & kids. In the last 7 months they've had virtually no time from me.
“Pandemic has been tough for everyone & I am luckier than most but it has been tough for my 12yr old step-daughter who missed her friends during her P7 year.
"As a treat, I promised this Harry Potter fan a trip to HP Studios months ago (if restrictions allowed) when school finished.
“Every day I have taken 'off' I have worked. Speaking to clinicians, vaccines & testing teams, clearing submissions etc.
“My family don't see me much at all, and while they understand why, it is difficult for us all, so I wont apologise for giving them the v limited time I do.”
Addressing the Tories, he added: "Your shadow public health minister [Sandesh Gulhane] was at HP World at the same time as me, we bumped into each other & said hello.
"So I can only assume it's Scot Govt ministers who aren't allowed to spend time with family?"
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel