A Scottish cabinet minister has accused his local nursery of discrimination, claiming they refused his daughter a place ‘because of her Muslim name.’

Health secretary Humza Yousaf is taking his case to the Care Inspectorate after he alleged the Little Scholars Nursery in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, were willing to offer a place to a white-Scottish friend but not his child, Amal, 2.

Mr Yousaf said his wife Nadia El-Nakla emailed nursery bosses in May, asking if there were any available places.

The couple allege they were told there were ‘no available spaces in the nursery’ – the second time they said they had been turned down.

Suspecting something wasn’t right, they asked a friend named Julie Kelly to email on behalf of her two-year-old son and the nursery responded to say places were available on three afternoons a week.

The nursery’s two contrasting responses were sent less than 24 hours apart and Mr Yousaf claims three other white-Scottish applicants were ‘offered tours of nursery and spaces, often within less than 24hrs’.

He said at the same time applicants with Muslim names were ‘being rejected, including application for my daughter’.

Mr Yousaf said he’s ‘uncovered what I believe to be a private nursery discriminating applicants on basis of their ethnicity/religion’.

The allegations, first reported by the Daily Record newspaper, shows the extent of discrimination that still exists in Scotland, the politician claimed.

‘We are fooling ourselves if we believe discrimination doesn’t exist in Scotland. I believe evidence we have proves our case beyond doubt,’ he said.

‘As well as reporting the nursery to the Care Inspectorate we are also seeking legal advice.’

A spokesman for the nursery owners insisted they were ‘extremely proud of being open and inclusive to all’ insisting that ‘any claim to the contrary is demonstrably false and an accusation that we would refute in the strongest possible terms’.

The spokesman said: ‘In addition to our owners being of Asian heritage, across more than a decade we have regularly welcomed both children and staff from a range of different religious, cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds, including two Muslim families currently.

‘We have also regularly made arrangements to accommodate different lifestyles by, for example, providing a halal menu for those children who come from Muslim families.

‘We note Mr Yousaf’s call for a Care Inspectorate investigation and this is something we would absolutely welcome. We have nothing to hide and look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate the policies and procedures we have in place to ensure we are a nursery that is open and welcoming to all.’

Mr Yousaf said that contacting the Care Inspectorate with their concerns was ‘not a step my wife and I have taken lightly’.

I cannot tell you how angry I am. As a father all I want to do is protect my girls, yet aged 2 I believe my daughter has faced discrimination. If this had not happened to me I’m not sure I would have believed it could happen in 2021

How many other families has this happened to?

He tweeted: ‘After our nursery application for our daughter was refused a 2nd time, my wife asked her White Scottish friend to put in an application for a Child the same age. Within 24hrs of refusing our application my wife’s friend’s was accepted.’

The Health Secretary hit out: ‘It doesn’t matter what my position or how senior in Govt I may be, some will always see me, my wife and children by our ethnicity or religion first.

‘We have given Little Scholars nursery every opportunity for an explanation for the disparity in treatment, none has been forthcoming.’

And he added: ‘With no explanation from Little Scholars, we will pursue the truth and get answers we deserve.’

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