Humza Yousaf denies he is 'weak and hopeless' as Greens say he'll be out by Christmas

Humza Yousaf denied he is 'weak', 'hopeless' and a "lame duck leader heading for the exit door" at an emergency press conference this morning, after his governing coalition with the Scottish Greens fell apart.

The First Minister faced a slew of difficult questions about his position after the Scottish Greens blasted him as they exited Government, plunging the SNP into a minority administration for the first time in over a decade.

In a furious statement this morning, the scorned Green Party said: "By ending the agreement in such a weak and thoroughly hopeless way, Humza Yousaf has signalled that when it comes to political cooperation, he can no longer be trusted”.

Asked about the furious attack on him, Mr Yousaf denied that he is 'weak and hopeless’.

He instead claimed that by dissolving the coalition agreement he had in fact shown “leadership".

"It shows leadership. As leader of the government, leader of the party that elected me, I’ve got to do what’s in the interests of the people of Scotland and do what’s in the best interests of my party, and what’s in the best interests for my party to deliver for the people of Scotland.”

Just 48 hours ago, the First Minister said the coalition agreement with the Greens was “worth its weight in gold” and defended Green co-leader Patrick Harvie.

Asked whether he is no longer in control or calling the shots, Mr Yousaf stood by his claim from just two days ago about the value of the coalition deal, “no if, buts or maybes”.

However the Scottish Tories have now piled in to say that the collapse of the "toxic coalition" is an "utter humiliation for Humza Yousaf, who hailed it as ‘worth its weight in gold’ and continued to back it to the hilt right until the end”.

"The First Minister’s judgement is so poor that he couldn’t see what a malign influence the anti-growth Greens have been in government and his authority so weak that he was bounced into this U-turn by his own MSPs.

“Humza Yousaf’s year as SNP leader has been a disastrous mix of scandals, infighting and policy U-turns. The collapse of the power sharing pact he staked his reputation on is not just humiliating, it highlights once again how inept and out his depth he is.”

In a humiliating moment underlining the SNP's perilous hold on power, Mr Yousaf used the press conference to beg his opponents to stop opposing him.

He told journalists that he was laying down a "serious challenge" to the opposition, demanding that the Conservatives, Labour and LibDems: "Cannot simply oppose for the sake of opposing”.

"They have to work constructively to make sure we continue as a parliament to achieve for the people of Scotland, so instead of sniping from the sidelines as they often do, not coming with anything useful in terms of suggestion, now it’s time for the opposition to step up."

Speaking to the media this morning, the Scottish Greens also accused the SNP of “betrayal”.

Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie also suggested that the SNP will no longer be in government by Christmas.

Fellow co-leader Lorna Slater blasted: “Voters deserve better, Scotland deserves better. Scottish Green voters certainly deserve better".

“They have broken the bonds of trust with members of both parties who have twice chosen the cooperation agreement and climate action over chaos, culture wars and division. They have betrayed the electorate.”

Scottish Labour also piled in, with deputy leader Jackie Baillie saying: “This chaotic and incompetent Government is falling apart before our eyes”.

“Humza Yousaf is too weak to hold his own Government together and he is too weak to deliver for Scotland.”