COURT action is to be taken against a nursery in Dundee which allegedly rejected the daughter of Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and his wife.
Yousaf and Nadia El-Nakla applied for a place for young Amal at the Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry, but were turned down with the facility claiming there was no space.
But just two days later a white friend of the couple was told there were spaces for her son on three afternoons every week.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf's wife Nadia El-Nakla says family 'sent death threats' from racists
Yousaf and El-Nakla reported the nursery to the Care Inspectorate but also instructed solicitor Aamer Anwar to initiate legal proceedings – which are now being taken to court.
Aamer Anwar detailed the court action
A statement from Anwar said: "On Monday August 9 2021, a claim was intimated on the Little Scholars Day Nursery, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, for a breach of the Equality Act 2010, in respect of alleged discrimination suffered by Nadia El-Nakla and her daughter, Amal Yousaf.
"We received a response from those acting for the nursery on Monday August 23 2021.
"This response refutes that there has been any discriminatory behaviour, but fails to provide a reasoned explanation as to why there were repeated refusals to accommodate children with Muslim/minority ethnic names, whilst at the same time children with white/Scottish names were offered nursery places.
"This is all despite the fact that other bodies including the Care Inspectorate and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have expressed an interest in this case.
"Under the circumstances, Nadia El-Nakla has no option but to proceed with court action against the nursery."
The nursery was given 14 days (until Monday) to provide full settlement proposals, a public apology and compensation to be paid to an "anti-racist charity of our client's choosing" choosing or court action would be raised at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Yousaf contacted the Daily Record newspaper who submitted fake queries from a Muslim family and white family, with the same results as before.
A spokesperson for the nursery previously told the Daily Record: "Our nursery is extremely proud of being open and inclusive to all and any claim to the contrary is demonstrably false and an accusation that we would refute in the strongest possible terms.
"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."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here