Former Scottish first minister faces probe over donations to UNRWA
Humza Yousaf is alleged to have given £250,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency while members of his family were trapped in Gaza
Former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf reportedly faces a probe into a series of donations the Scottish government made to a Gaza aid agency .
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Yousaf gave £250,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) while members of his family were trapped in the warzone.
The Telegraph claimed that officials had recommended a donation less than this amount to the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian aid to children, to fund water programmes in Gaza.
Yousaf allegedly told officials that, since he was about to meet with UNRWA, “we should just announce an extra £250k to them”.
The donation came from the International Development Fund, a £10m fund that is meant to be ring-fenced for projects in four “partner” countries – Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Scottish government is conducting a “review of the processes involved in our response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.
The admission was made in response to a freedom of information request submitted by Craig Houston, a Glasgow resident who has been following the case on his YouTube channel Craig Houston Talks To.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The review, which will focus on evolving future Scottish Government humanitarian funding mechanisms and processes, will be announced in due course.”
The Scottish government’s £250,000 donation was publicly announced on 2 November, the same day Yousaf met a delegation of senior UNRWA officials in Edinburgh. Yousaf’s mother-in-law and father-in-law were given safe passage out of Gaza via the Rafah crossing the following day.
Yousaf, who resigned as first minister in April, has denied that the donation was in any way connected to the release of his family.
A spokesman said at the time: “UNRWA had no role in the situation regarding the first minister’s extended family, and any suggestion of a conflict of interest in this matter would be completely untrue.”
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