Humza Yousaf's brother-in-law drove into cyclist in uninsured car
The brother-in-law of former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has been fined £450 for colliding with a cyclist while driving an uninsured car.
Ramsay El-Nakla, a father-of three from Dundee, was doing the school run on June 12 last year when he failed to stop at a red light and crashed into bike rider James Clunie, 59, who suffered minor injuries.
At Dundee's Justice of the Peace Court on Tuesday, lawyers argued that losing his licence would 'cause hardship' to El-Nakla, who receives £1,400 per month on universal credit and disability payments and needs a car 'to help with the family'.
El-Nakla, 37, claimed he had lost his mobile phone on holiday and was unaware his insurance policy had been cancelled.
He admitted to driving carelessly and failing to slow when approaching a red light, failing to keep a proper lookout, and colliding with a stationary bicycle causing Mr Clunie to fall off. He also admitted having no insurance, but the Crown dropped a further charge of having no MOT certificate.
He was 'thrown off the bike'
Ewan Chalmers, fiscal depute, told the court: 'He has gone into the rear of the complainer's pushbike, which caused the complainer to be thrown off the bike, landing on the bonnet of the car, before falling to the ground.
'The complainer sustained a small cut to a finger on his right hand and minor pain in his back. The accused remained at the scene for 20 minutes to assist and passed on his details. Police checks were carried out on the accused's vehicle and showed it had no insurance.'
Annika Jethwa, mitigating, said: 'In relation to having no insurance, he had gone to Ireland to visit family and had broken his phone, and did not receive messages about the direct debit failing.
'There would be hardship'
'He had had difficulties during the year and it was the policy of the company to cancel if there was a third payment failure. He has been driving since he was 19 and has never had insurance issues.'
She added: 'He has a record, but it is not the worst. This was the combination of a few factors at the time. There would be hardship caused to the family if he was disqualified.'
William Morrison, a Justice of the Peace, ordered El-Nakla to clear the fine at £40 per month and imposed six penalty points on his driving licence.
He said: 'It is an unfortunate incident but it is indicative of a period of inattention, a momentary lapse, and I accept that. Nevertheless, there was injury – albeit minor – and the cyclist ought to have been protected.'
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