Humza Yousaf 'seriously considering' SNP leadership bid

Scotland's wellness caput has said helium is "seriously considering" lasting successful the SNP enactment contest.

Humza Yousaf said helium would marque his intentions wide successful the coming days aft speaking with his family.

The victor of the contention to win Nicola Sturgeon arsenic enactment person and Scotland's archetypal curate is owed to beryllium announced connected 27 March.

Ms Sturgeon announced connected Wednesday that she was lasting down aft 8 years successful the roles.

Other imaginable candidates including Finance Secretary Kate Forbes - who is presently connected maternity permission - and SNP lawman person Keith Brown are besides said to beryllium weighing up whether oregon not to motorboat their ain bids for the leadership.

Ash Regan - who discontinue arsenic assemblage information curate implicit the Scottish government's sex designation reforms - has besides been tipped arsenic a imaginable candidate, arsenic has civilization curate Neil Gray.

But Deputy First Minister John Swinney and the SNP's Westminster person Stephen Flynn person already ruled themselves out, with high-profile MP Joanna Cherry besides saying she volition not stand.

Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland that the occupation of archetypal curate was the biggest successful the country, and that "a batch of radical person been successful touch" with him astir it.

He added: "Whoever is adjacent contemplating going for it should truly instrumentality clip to springiness it immoderate superior information and that is what I americium doing.

"If I did spell for it and I did get selected by the rank past of people it wouldn't conscionable person an interaction connected me, it would person an interaction connected my household

"I person got 2 young girls and a woman and a household and truthful I person got deliberation astir the interaction connected them too."

The archetypal curate has faced repeated calls from absorption parties to sack Mr Yousaf implicit his handling of the NHS, with waiting times astatine grounds highs and doctors informing that the country's hospitals are not harmless for patients.

Mr Yousaf pointed to the grounds wage connection helium made to unit connected Friday, which helium said was apt to avert onslaught enactment for the adjacent fiscal year.

He said: "Scotland is the lone portion of the UK to person averted onslaught enactment for nurses and ambulance staff.

"Of people Scotland is not immune to the challenges of the planetary pandemic.

"Waiting times are obscurity adjacent the modular we would privation to spot but they are replicated successful wellness services close crossed the UK and galore parts of Europe too."

Meanwhile, SNP MSP Ivan McKee told BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme that helium believed Ms Forbes was "by far" the champion campaigner for the occupation and "head and shoulders supra everyone other that has been mentioned".

He added: "I americium talking to Kate, she is inactive to marque up her caput it indispensable beryllium said, she'll see that and speech to household and others implicit the adjacent mates of days and determine what she wants to do.

"I would anticipation that she decides to stand, and we volition find retired successful the adjacent mates of days what her determination is."

Nominations for the enactment contention volition adjacent astatine noon connected Friday 24 February.

A enactment league scheduled for 19 March to sermon the SNP's strategy for winning Scottish independency has been postponed.