Yousaf squirmed as he finally admitted deleting his Whatsapp messages

Humza Yousaf probably doesn’t have many “good” days as First Minister of Scotland. Leading a circus school disguised as a political party, the ever-unfolding legacy of corruption from his predecessor and the underlying and unfortunate fact that he isn’t very good at his job. Still, in the midst of all this yesterday must rank as one of the worst he’s had in a while. After a drubbing at First Minister’s Questions, Humza’s Covid nightmares returned to haunt him.

Earlier on, the Covid Inquiry had heard from Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff, who’d helpfully come bearing her half of the missing Whatsapp transcripts between the pair. Most damning was the revelation that Lloyd had urged Sturgeon to disagree publicly with the UK government about the furlough scheme – for the sake of it, basically. “I just want a good old fashioned rammy so [I] can think about something other than sick people,” Lloyd had written.

It’s amazing the lengths the SNP will go to, just to be different. Trash the furlough scheme to own the Tories. Force children to wear masks in school to own the Tories. Earlier this year, having previously moaned about the XL Bully ban introduced by Westminster, the SNP soon pivoted after one rehomed from England mauled several passers-by in Hamilton. (Release savage dogs into the community to own the Tories).

Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, lacked the theatrical panache of his counterpart in London, Hugo Keith KC, but this was no bad thing.

Without fanfare, Dawson analysed the SNP’S secrecy and exposed that same lingering desperation to make the pandemic about Scottish independence. It also transpired that Sturgeon had referred to Boris Johnson as “a clown” which at least proved that some valid expert advice was sought during the pandemic.

From clowns to used car salesmen, Humza Yousaf looked distinctly shifty and uncomfortable as he answered the KC’S questions. He squirmed on his chair like a man with a chronic case of piles and demonstrated as much eye contact as a teenager on an awkward first date. After months of denying it, he was at last forced to admit deleting some of his own Whatsapp messages.

With devastating understatement, Dawson thanked Yousaf for “the fortuitous discovery of these many messages which we have read with great interest”.

An unhappy Burns Night then for Scotland’s FM: butas much as he wishes auld acquaintance might be forgot, things may still get worse for Humza.