Humza Yousaf hits back after Elon Musk brands him 'racist'

Elon Musk was commenting on an edited clip of a speech Mr Yousaf gave in 2020

Scotland's first minister has hit back at a claim by Elon Musk that he was a "blatant racist".

Mr Musk posted the comment on his X social media platform in response to an edited clip of a speech Humza Yousaf gave after the murder of George Floyd.

A spokesman for Mr Yousaf said Mr Musk should instead "tackle racism and hatred that goes unchecked on the social media platform he owns".

He also said Mr Yousaf had been on the receiving end of racism his whole life.

The first minister's name was trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Mr Musk tweeted about him. Mr Yousaf reacted on Friday morning by posting: "Racists foaming at the mouth at my very existence."

He then added: "Me:" and shared a gif from the BBC comedy Still Game, featuring the character Navid dancing in his shop.

Mr Musk, who has more than 160 million followers, had replied "What a blatant racist!" in response to a post by a prominent right-wing social media account. It had shown an edited 45 second clip of a lengthy speech Mr Yousaf made in the Scottish Parliament in June 2020.

The clip has been widely shared by similar accounts in recent months.

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A fact check carried out by the Reuters news agency in February concluded that the clip misrepresented Mr Yousaf's comments by suggesting he had been arguing that Scotland contained too many white people.

Reuters said: "Yousaf's speech was given as part of a wider discussion about racial injustice and the lack of people of colour in positions of power in the Scottish Parliament and government.

"The speech did not assert that white people make up too large a proportion of Scotland's overall population."

Mr Yousaf gave his speech the month after the murder of African-American George Floyd on a Minneapolis street sparked worldwide protests against racism and excessive use of force by police.

Mr Yousaf, who was justice secretary at the time, told MSPs that the country had to "accept the reality and the evidence that is in front of us, that Scotland has a problem of structural racism".

He went on to say "in 99% of their meetings I go to, I am the only non-white person in the room".

Mr Yousaf has spoken in the past about the racism he has had to face throughout his life

Mr Yousaf then listed a number of positions - including the lord advocate, solicitor general and Police Scotland chief constable - and, after each, added: "white".

He said the same was true for every high court judge, every deputy chief constable, every assistant chief constable and every prison governor in Scotland.

Mr Yousaf, who succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as first minister in March, also highlighted senior positions in the health sector and the trade union movement.

On Friday, a spokesperson for Mr Yousaf said: "The first minister has been on the receiving end of racist hate, abuse and death threats his entire life, and has stood firm against hatred and bigotry, of any kind, throughout.

"Sadly, much of the racist abuse and threats of violence the first minister faces are directed his way on X - formerly known as Twitter.

"Mr Musk should use his position to tackle racism and hatred that goes unchecked on the social media platform he owns."