BORDERS MP John Lamont has urged SNP leadership contender Humza Yousaf to drop his bid to be the next First Minister and focus on improving the NHS in the Borders and across Scotland.

Mr Yousaf, who would be the first Scottish First Minister from an ethnic minority background if elected, has attracted the endorsement of a number of party colleagues at both Holyrood and Westminster.

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But Lamont said that his handling of the health service as Cabinet Secretary had been “horrendous” and demonstrated that he was “unfit” to lead the country.

The MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk said: “Humza Yousaf has been a horrendous health secretary for people in the Borders and all over Scotland.

“He has been the worst health secretary since devolution began, which demonstrates clearly that he is unfit to lead the country.”

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Mr Lamont also said that the SNP Government failures had left the Borders without enough rural GPs and health professionals and added that Borders residents had suffered as waiting times for treatment in Scotland’s NHS had spiralled out of control.

 “Scotland’s NHS has suffered immense damage on Mr Yousaf’s watch. His failures have left Borders residents waiting far too long for vital treatment and healthcare.

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“Mr Yousaf cannot be allowed to damage our public services the way he has run down our health service. 

“He must drop his leadership bid and focus on fixing the problems he has created in Scotland’s NHS.”

Mr Yousaf, who entered Holyrood in 2011 and has been a perennial frontbencher in every SNP administration since, has long been viewed as a potential successor to Ms Sturgeon in Bute House.

He announced his leadership bid last weekend and  said he had been through a “rollercoaster of emotions” since Ms Sturgeon announced her resignation.

He said: “You’ve got to put yourself forward if you think you’re the best person for the job. And I do.

"This is the top job in the country, and it needs somebody who has experience.”

Other contenders include Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and former Community Safety Minister Ash Regan, who resigned from her ministerial position in protest at the Scottish Government’s gender reform legislation.