KATE Forbes is coming under more pressure over her position on abortion after one of her government colleagues said she had not yet been “clear enough" when it comes to the victims of rape. 

Earlier this week, when asked if she personally believes a rape victim should be able to get an abortion, the Finance Secretary said that she would "uphold" the law. 

Ms Forbes - a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland - told the Daily Record: “I have already said that I wouldn't have an abortion myself, but I would uphold the laws which allow for women to access abortion services.”

Asked the same question again, she replied: “I personally wouldn't have an abortion. So whatever scenario you put to me, my answer will be the same, which is that at the end of the day, the decisions I make are not the decisions that I'm imposing on other people.”

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Speaking to ITV Border, Environment Minister, Màiri McAllan said her colleague needed to go further. 

“I think that Kate's support has dropped among SNP voters,” she said. “I think some of that is probably because of the right-of-centre views both socially and economically that she's expressed. 

“But I think it's also because she was critical of the government, which so many of our activists have worked to deliver.”

When it was put to her that Ms Forbes said her views will not affect the way she governs, Ms McAllan said she was “not sure I actually have heard that”.

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The minister - who was one of Mr Yousaf's earliest backers - added: “If Kate were asked about a woman who's been raped and whether they would have access to abortion, her answer on that wasn't clear enough for me.”

Christine Grahame, who is backing Ms Forbes in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon said the minister’s answer was “ridiculous.” 

“She's made it perfectly clear she would respect other people's rights. Everybody in the cabinet knew she was a member of the Free Kirk and then they came out as if it was a big surprise. 

“I know people who've been in previous cabinets who were Catholics who were opposed to abortion, who were opposed to end of life assistance, and what happened was they were slipped.” 

Ms Grahame also suggested Mr Yousaf was lying after he missed the final vote on equal marriage in 2014. 

He claims he had an “unavoidable” meeting to discuss a man on death row in Pakistan. However, Alex Salmond, the first minister at the time, and a number of other senior government figures have suggested that is not accurate, and that he missed the vote due to pressure from the mosque. 

“He didn't have to have that meeting,” Ms Grahame said. “It's an easy thing to move it in your diary, and I believe firmly for his own reasons which I accept, he was not there.

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Ms Grahame also attacked Mr Yousaf’s track record as a minister. 

“Humza Yousaf took credit for the Queensferry crossing. He was at the tail end of it. 

“He took credit for Covid. [Forner health minitser] Jeane Freeman was the dynamo that took us through the Covid crisis, took us through that, he came in at the tail end. 

“What I've seen from Humza is taking credit for others' work and not taking the blame for things he's responsible for. And to put it in this context, his handling of the NHS has hardly been the best.”

She said Ms Forbes was respected in Parliament “in a way that Humza Yousaf is not.”

In 2018, Ms Fobres spoke at a prayer breakfast where she said that politicians should recognise that the treatment of the “unborn” is a “measure of true progress”.