The Islamist-linked radical at the heart of Scotland’s devolved government has castigated David Cameron for not signing up to the European Union plan to welcome thousands of Mediterranean boat migrants to Britain. He says the nation has a “moral obligation” to act.

Scottish minister Humza Yousaf made the comments yesterday after meeting with the chief executive of the Refugee Council, opening a potentially serious rift with the Westminster government over how to deal with the great volumes of people now crossing the Mediterranean. Despite Britain not participating in the European Union plan to relocate 40,000 of the migrants who have arrived in Greece and Italy already, many still continue to come here, attempting to illegally board trains and lorries to cross the English channel.

Yousaf wants Scotland to throw the doors open to migrants from around the world – he has long campaigned for Scotland to accept ‘Palestinian refugees’, but British borders are controlled from Westminster, not Edinburgh. Saying he was “hugely disappointed” by the British government, Yousaf remarked:

“By refusing to take its fair share of vulnerable migrants the UK has turned its back on those in desperate need of help and failed to recognise the part it should play – as a full member state – in the EU’s collective responsibility to address this crisis.

‪”The Scottish Government wholeheartedly disagrees with the UK’s refusal to partake in the EU’s relocation scheme, and I once again urge the Prime Minister to reconsider his position on this vital issue. Doing so will save lives”.

“More can and should be done to help migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean. At the very least the UK should stand alongside other member states and take its proportionate share so that we in Scotland can do the same.”

With the Mediterranean migrant crisis deepening, 2015 looks set to be a record-breaking year for the number of migrants arriving in the European Union. While Yousaf speaks of tens of thousands that are to be re-homed at the behest of the European Commission throughout the continent, present projections indicate the actual number by years end could easily reach the hundreds of thousands instead.

Breitbart London has reported at length on the doings of the tartan-wearing, Pakistani-heritage member of the Scottish parliament (MSP). Described by the BBC as “the power behind Alex Salmond” when he was still party leader, Yousaf has only comparatively recently become an MSP, having come from a background of political activism at the Glasgow Central Mosque and charity Islamic Relief.

The charity was described in 2013 by the respected Gatestone Institute as being a front organisation for Islamist terrorism. He has also been tainted by suggestions of being involved with fake voters and vote rigging, and his association with SNP councilor Jahangir Hanif, who was videos firing an Ak-47 assault rifle in Pakistan before handing the weapon to his children.