HUMZA Yousaf has said he will try to attend both the King’s coronation and a Yes rally on the same day “if possible”.
All three SNP leadership candidates accepted invitations to speak at an independence rally on May 6 organised by All Under One Banner (AUOB).
During Tuesday evening’s Times Radio debate, Ash Regan confirmed she would send a representative to the coronation while Forbes said she would look to try and attend both events.
Yousaf has now echoed the thoughts of the Scottish Finance Secretary after saying last night he will attend the coronation if he becomes first minister.
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He told The National: “As an independence activist, I’ve proudly attended a number of rallies which hold an important place in our movement.
“My views on the monarchy are well known but as Scotland’s first minister it is vitally important that I represent the people of Scotland who hold a range of different views.
“If SNP members put their trust in me to lead our party, and become Scotland’s first minister, I will look to find a solution to attend both events if that is possible.”
Although Yousaf said he was a republican, and that he had made no effort to hide this fact, he felt it was important to represent everybody in Scotland, including those who are supportive of the monarchy and those who are not.
A spokesperson for Yousaf previously confirmed that he would be accepting the invitation to speak at the Yes rally on May 6.
The new first minister will be announced on Monday with Tuesday evening’s debate marking the last time the candidates will go head-to-head before a new SNP leader is chosen.
Regarding Yousaf’s position on the coronation, an AUOB spokesperson told The National: “Last week we were delighted to hear that Humza had accepted our invite to march for independence on May 6, but yesterday he made a contradictory statement to The Times.
“The other SNP leadership candidates have intimated that it’s possible to attend the national demonstration for self-determination, and send a representative to the coronation.
“Following this morning’s update from Humza that if he becomes the next leader of the SNP and first minister he will look to find a solution to attend both events if possible, then it’s clear that this position now contradicts both what he said last week, and also what he said to the British press yesterday.
“As such it would be helpful to know which of these three positions is Humza’s final decision on the matter.”
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