London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Humza Yousaf told of SNP motorhome after becoming leader

Humza Yousaf told of SNP motorhome after becoming leader

Scotland's first minister has said he only discovered the SNP had bought a luxury motorhome after he became party leader.

Humza Yousaf said he was shown a police warrant to seize items from the party, which included the vehicle.

The motorhome was seized from outside a property in Dunfermline last week.

Party sources are reported to have said it was intended to be used as a "campaign battle bus" ahead of the last Holyrood election in 2021.

They told the Daily Record that it would have acted as a "mobile campaign room" if Covid restrictions prevented other forms of mixing, but was never used.

Mr Yousaf was asked during a visit to a Glasgow nursery school when he first learned that the party had bought the Niesmann + Bischoff vehicle, which can retail for more than £100,000.

He replied: "Shortly after I became leader of the party".

The first minister said: "The police of course give us a warrant for items that they are looking to take in their possession.

"I can't go into the detail of that but of course the police have done the responsible thing and I as leader have seen the warrant in terms of the items that they've confiscated, including the motorhome that you referenced."

The Mail on Sunday reported at the weekend that the vehicle had been parked outside the home of Peter Murrell's 92-year-old mother since January 2021. Mr Murrell is married to Nicola Sturgeon, and was until recently the SNP's chief executive.

It was said to have been taken away on the same day that officers searched Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell's home in Glasgow, and the SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh. Mr Murrell was arrested before later being released without charge.

Campervans similar to the one seized by police can retail for more than £100,000


Officers are investigating the SNP's finances in response to complaints about how the party spent more than £600,000 of donations that it had received from activists.

Mr Yousaf said the public had "very reasonable" questions to ask regarding the issue of transparency within the SNP.

It has been revealed that the SNP has been without auditors since September. Accountants Johnston Carmichael, which audited its accounts for more than a decade, said the decision to no longer work with the party was taken after a review of its clients.

Mr Yousaf said he had not been aware of the issue until he became leader, adding that "it would have been helpful to have known beforehand" and that "there should have been more transparency around the party finances".

He said he was now committed to finding replacement auditors for the party as soon as possible.

The first minister was speaking the day after the Scottish government confirmed it would be launching a legal challenge to the UK government's block on its gender recognition reforms.

Mr Yousaf said he did not "know the full costs" that would be involved in taking legal action, but insisted that "it's an important principle".

He said: "Spending taxpayers' money on defending the will of the Scottish Parliament, on defending devolution, for me that's important."

He said he would launch the challenge even if it was a bill he "fundamentally disagreed" with, claiming that if he did not do so then the UK government would "veto legislation after legislation" passed at Holyrood.

However, former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption told the BBC that the Scottish government's position was "weak" and the legal challenge would be "very difficult".

The case for judicial review will initially be heard in the Court of Session in Edinburgh, but is widely expected to end up in the UK Supreme Court for a final decision.

Lord Sumption told the BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Section 35 empowers the UK government to stop a Scottish bill becoming law if it modifies the law relating to a matter reserved to Westminster in a way that adversely affects how the law works.

"One of those matters is equal opportunities, and what the UK government says is the Scottish bill modifies the law relating to equal opportunities in a way that adversely affects how it works.

"So if you think about it, the result will be that some UK citizens, if this bill comes into force, will have a different legal gender in different parts of the UK depending on where they happen to be."

Asked if he would resign as first minister if the legal challenge was unsuccessful, Mr Yousaf replied: "No".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×