It felt surreal to go shopping without police protection - Humza Yousaf

Humza Yousaf says it felt "surreal" to go shopping without police protection after he stood down as Scotland's first minister.

From the first Muslim leader of a western democratic nation he went to the SNP backbenches - and found he did not know what to do with his time.

Yousaf, who is not standing for re-election, bid farewell to the Scottish Parliament last week, marking the end of his 15-year career as an MSP.

With global conflict in Iran and the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, he told the BBC his political exit comes at one of the "most challenging, fractious and worrying times" the world has seen.

The 40-year-old says his time in politics has been "an incredible journey", but admits he has made mistakes and it has put pressure on his mental health.

The Glasgow Pollok MSP spent his entire career with the SNP.

He was seen as the natural successor to first minister Nicola Sturgeon when she stood down after nine years.

He told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show it felt "a bit odd and strange" when his own stint in the top job came to a much swifter end after 13 months in office.

"I wasn't quite sure what to do with the time that I had," he says.

"I'd been in government for about 12 years in different roles, including first minister, then I was a backbencher "

"And I wasn't like other backbenchers, I wasn't on a committee, so I was just kind of scratching my head."

Yousaf says it was a "surreal experience" to go from the workload, formality and security that surrounded the office of first minister.

"For a year I'd had these police officers accompanying me everywhere as part of my security detail.

"Even when I took my kids to the park there would be kind of burly police officers there.

"I remember the first time going to the supermarket with my wife and there was no security

"We got our messages and got back home and there was no incidents to speak of - but it just felt quite surreal having been surrounded by people."

Yousaf became first minister in March 2023 after a narrow win in an SNP leadership contest.

During his year in power he faced no shortage of challenges - including the police investigation into SNP finances and the Scottish government's failed court battle with the UK government over gender recognition reforms.

"I can sit here and kind of complain about the hand I was given," he says.

"You've got to step up and do the best you can when you're in that position."

There was also the abandonment of controversial plans for highly protected marine areas and the Scottish Greens' deposit return scheme.

Yousaf's leadership came to an end after he ended the Bute House Agreement - the SNP's power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens.

Later he said he regretted how it happened, but he denies he caved to pressure from within the SNP.

He says: "There was lots of internal pressure and advice given but ultimately I was the one that made the decision and I remember it very clearly.

"I've certainly made mistakes and what I've tried to do is during that period own up to them, hold my hands up and say take responsibility.

"Ultimately that's what I did when I stepped down as first minister."

The scrapping of the Bute House Agreement left the SNP as a minority government.

And facing a motion of no-confidence, Yousaf opted to stand down.

On international affairs, Yousaf's time in office was marked by the strong stand he took in opposition to the war in Gaza - calling for an immediate ceasefire.

His wife Nadia El-Nakla's parents were trapped in Gaza for four weeks after the Israeli invasion, which followed the deadly attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

"It was the most traumatic four weeks of my family's life," he told the BBC.

"I mean, I was first minister and you can imagine the pressure of it every day.

"My in-laws were trapped. We didn't know whether they would survive day by day.

"Most of Nadia's family - not just her mother and father, her granny was there, her brother was there, her niece's nephews and cousins - could all have been wiped out in a single-air strike."

Yousaf says this came during a period that saw his first conference as SNP leader, with "quite a divided party at the time".

"At home I had an inconsolable wife and two children who didn't know whether their granny or grandpa would come back home alive.

"And I've got to keep running the country."

Yousaf says the current situation in Gaza, nearly six months after a formal ceasefire came into force, is "still very bleak".

And with the ongoing conflict in Iran, he says there must be consequences for nations who violate "the international rules-based order".

This weekend has been reported that about 3,500 US personnel have now arrived in the region.

Yousaf says: "We're now living in an era where those that are the mightiest and the strongest are doing whatever it is they want to do with virtually zero consequences.

"That, of course, leaves everybody else at the peril and the mercy of those superpowers.

"What I would have liked to have seen from world leaders is saying, we are going to stand by the international rules-based order, and there should be consequences for those that violate that."

Yousaf says Europe must now be "asking itself the question" on how it can be less reliant on the United States for defence and security.

"I suspect, given what's happened in the last couple of weeks, the Gulf region is asking itself the very same question."