First Minister Humza Yousaf was branded a “pestilence on the land” by a heckler as he appeared at an Edinburgh Festival Fringe event.
The Scottish First Minister was interrupted three times when he took to the stage with broadcaster Iain Dale on Friday.
As he spoke about how he had experienced “too many people who have been racist” the Scottish First Minister was interrupted by Niall Fraser, a member of the Scottish Family Party.
Mr Fraser shouted at Mr Yousaf: “On behalf of Scotland, f*** you. You are a pestilence on the land.
Confronting Humza at Iain Dale Fringe show. pic.twitter.com/goh9WQRw7c
Advertisement— Niall Fraser (@NiallFraser8) August 11, 2023
“You are despicable, you should be behind bars.”
As the man was led out of the room, Mr Yousaf quipped: “I don’t mind a good heckle, frankly, because it saves my dad from doing it.”
However, he told the audience at the All Talk show: “I’ve had too many people who have been racist to me throughout my life.”
Mr Yousaf said: “As a person of colour, there is a real sense of frustration at the amount of times people of colour in any profession get told, essentially, ‘you don’t belong here’.
“They’re told that in different ways: ‘you’re not intelligent enough’, ‘you’re not good enough’ ‘you’re out of your depth’, this that and the other.”
He said he had spoken about this with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, as well as former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheik, who is now a member of the rival pro-independence Alba Party.
“We all get told the same thing,” Mr Yousaf said.
He continued: “Every interaction I have I am conscious about my colour.
Protestors interrupt @ScotGovFM Humza Yousaf for the second time as he appears at @IainDale All Talk at Edinburgh Festival Fringe pic.twitter.com/dcVjrIz7ul
— Katrine Bussey (@KatrineBussey) August 11, 2023
“I can be the First Minister of this country, but I am afraid there are some people who will always look at me first as a person of colour, and they will form a judgment.
“So when you ask me if it’s something that is on my mind, I can’t not be conscious of my colour, because everybody else is conscious of my colour.”
While he insisted his race “does not dominate everything I do”, the Scottish First Minister went on to say it would be “a shame if I didn’t use my position to make sure that I do as much as I can for any marginalised group, not just people of colour”.
Later, he was interrupted by environmental protesters, who called on him to speak out against new oil and gas licences being granted by the UK government in the North Sea.
Mr Yousaf told them: “I don’t think Scotland’s future is in oil and gas.”
Rishi Sunak, last month, travelled to Scotland to announce Government support for future oil and gas licensing rounds, with the Prime Minister saying then he wants to “max out” developments in the North Sea.
