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Scottish health secretary falls from scooter he has used since rupturing achilles

The Scottish health secretary has been using the scooter since rupturing his achilles earlier this month

Thomas Kingsley
Thursday 16 September 2021 16:32 BST
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Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf was filmed falling off his knee scooter
Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf was filmed falling off his knee scooter (PA)

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Scotland’s health secretary has been filmed falling from a knee scooter he has been using since rupturing his achilles.

Humza Yousaf is seen skating through a corridor at pace before tumbling to the ground in the ten second clip shared on social media by BBC Scotland political editor, Glen Campbell.

The video was captioned: “The health secretary ⁦@HumzaYousaf⁩ does not appear to be having a good day at work…”

The clip has been watched over 150,000 times since being uploaded this afternoon, but Mr Campbell was met with criticism from the minister who ruptured his achilles in a badminton accident.

Mr Yousaf replied to the video writing: “All for media scrutiny & never shy away from it. Just not sure there is need or purpose to tweet out a video of me falling over while injured. If anyone else had fallen over while on crutches, a knee scooter, or in a wheelchair would your first instinct be to film it & tweet out?”

Some viewers agreed with Mr Yousaf, with one Twitter using writing: “Weirdly unsavoury look for a state broadcaster to be mocking someone for hurting themselves while already carrying an injury.

Another added: “How is this news? Someone fell whilst already injured and you think you should share it like some sideshow? Shameful.”

However, some users took the opportunity to point out a 2018 tweet where Mr Yousaf mocked MP Douglas Ross’ 2018 fall while refereeing a football match.

Mr Yousaf sustained the injury earlier this month during a game of badminton and his lower right leg has been in a cast since, forcing him to use a knee scooter to navigate.

The health secretary has been at the forefront of Scotland’s response to the pandemic and integral in increasing uptake of the vaccine. To date, 69.5 per cent of Scotland’s population has been fully vaccinated.

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