Humza Yousaf gave £250k to Gaza despite official advice

However, the First Minister is facing accusations that his interference in the allocation of aid process amounted to a conflict of interest, and questions over whether his actions breached the ministerial code.

A senior MSP who sits on Holyrood’s standards and procedures committee said that if Mr Yousaf was unable to give a satisfactory explanation for his actions, he should face an inquiry.

The Telegraph understands that a report has been made to the Metropolitan Police’s anti-terror hotline, and a submission is being prepared to send to Audit Scotland, the independent body that oversees how public money is spent in Scotland.

Stephen Kerr, a Conservative MSP who sits on Scotland’s standards, procedures and public appointments committee, said: “The First Minister has some serious explaining to do, starting with why he overrode officials to take money away from the vital Unicef water programme and assign it to UNRWA. 

“It looks as if the money was not budgeted and that the First Minister was prepared to bend the rules and not follow procedure.

“Humza Yousaf has a clear conflict of interest in the awarding of aid to Gaza. Clearly, the fact that so many members of his family are either living in Gaza or are involved with Palestinian organisations raises significant questions about what his motivation is for using taxpayers’ money in the area.”

Parents-in-law stranded

Mr Yousaf’s in-laws travelled to Gaza in early October to visit relatives but became stranded when the war began. Border crossings in and out of Gaza were shut after Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct 7, murdering some 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages.

The Scottish Ministerial Code states that ministers “must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise”.

Mr Kerr went on to say that the First Minister “may very well have broken the code by failing to recuse himself when he has family connections to Gaza and Palestinian organisations here in Scotland”.

He added: “If he cannot give a satisfactory answer to questions about the decision-making behind this payment by the Scottish Government, then Parliament must set up an independent investigation into this matter.”

Towards the end of November last year, reports began to emerge in Israeli media that a hostage had been held captive in the house of an UNRWA employee, where he was locked in the attic.

By the end of January, Britain, the United States and several other countries suspended their funding to UNRWA after 12 of its workers were sacked following accusations by Israel that they participated in the Oct 7 attacks. 

The UN has launched its own inquiry into the claims, which is ongoing.