Humza Yousaf says Riots could Force Him & Family to Leave UK

Humza Yousaf has said that he and his family may be forced to leave the UK because of far-right riots.

The former Scottish first minister said he had become so fearful of rising Islamophobia that he had considered leaving the UK.

While Scotland is yet to be hit by the riots, Mr Yousaf described the targeting of minority groups as “horrendous” and said he and other minorities felt their “sense of belonging is questioned”.

He said: “I am about as Scottish as they come.

“Born in Scotland, raised in Scotland, educated in Scotland, just welcomed my third child here in Scotland.

“I was the leader of the Scottish Government for just over a year. You cut me open and I’m about as Scottish as you come.

“The truth of the matter is I don’t know if the future for me, my wife and my three children is going to be here in Scotland or the United Kingdom, or indeed in Europe and the West.

“I have for some time worried about the rise of Islamophobia.”

Humza Yousaf said anti-Muslim and anti-migrant rhetoric had been “normalised” in the UK and was now “playing out in the most horrendous, violent way possible”.

He said: “That makes me question whether or not my family has an existence in the UK or not.

“I’m not the only one – I’ve had hundreds of messages from the Muslim community saying the exact same thing.”

Mr Yousaf recalled when his father acquired Pakistani identity cards for the family, he claimed they may have to leave Scotland one day.

He admitted he thought it was “ridiculous” at the time but is now considering it.

Mr Yousaf said: “I could give you example after example, of where the language of the far Right, driven by Islamophobia, has now become institutionalised in our politics.”

He named Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and “a former home secretary” as three individuals who he said had stoked racism and Islamophobia in the UK with their rhetoric.

Humza Yousaf also praised Sir Keir Starmer’s response to the riots.

Police Scotland has said it has no intelligence to suggest that the violent disorder seen in England is likely to break out in Scotland.

However, police are aware of a series of attempts to organise right-wing events in the country, with one “pro-UK” rally planned for September 7 in Glasgow being promoted by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson.