FIRST MINISTER Humza Yousaf branded socialist MSP Neil Findlay a “twat” and an “arsehole” for questioning Scottish government policy, Covid WhatsApps have revealed.

The revelations came as part of disclosures to the Covid-19 Inquiry, showing discussions between the national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch and the then health secretary Mr Yousaf.

One exchange shows Professor Leitch relating to Mr Yousaf his experience in a 2021 post-election MSP briefing on pandemic policy where he described Tory MSP Edward Mountain as “rude” and Labour MSP Daniel Johnson a “smart arse.”

Before going on to laugh-off a rebuke he received from the UK Statistics Authority, Mr Humza responded: “Doesn’t surprise me about Mountain or DJ frankly.

“Paul Sweeney [Labour MSP] will also be one to watch, he will tell you how to do your job.”

Professor Leitch replied: “He’s [Paul Sweeney] had a go on Twitter previously.

“Anas says he’s struggling with him and new girl Mercedes [Villalba].”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar refused to be drawn either on his own conversations with his one-time dentistry teacher Professor Leitch, or on insults directed at former Labour rival Mr Findlay.

He said: “For the national clinical director to be briefing newly elected MSPs and then to start ranting about them in that way, I think shows extremely unprofessional behaviour and again shows the pettiness not just of the political leadership of this country, but how that permeated then in terms of that rotten culture to the more senior civil servants.”

Responding to Mr Yousaf’s comments on him, Mr Findlay took social media platform X to post: “I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from this — not the language expected from a Hutcheson Grammar former pupil — looks like they don’t like being held to account.”