A MAN dropped ‘petrol bombs’ from a balcony during a tense stand-off with police.

Brian Scott, 39, barricaded himself in his home in Main Street, Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, on April 1 2024.

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The incident happened in Lennoxtown in April earlier this year[/caption]

Scott ripped out electrical wiring from the property which started a small fire.

As a result, eight households including elderly people in his tower block had to be evacuated and the street was closed off.

Masked Scott also claimed that his home was “rigged” with devices and that he would set himself on fire.

It was also believed that Scott was carrying a gun while he refused to engage with a police negotiator.

Scott pled guilty today at Glasgow Sheriff Court to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and assaulting police officers.

The court heard officers attended Scott’s home to carry out inquiries on another matter and spoke to him from his first-floor balcony.

He appeared periodically at his balcony and threw various items including bottles presumed to be petrol bombs

Prosecutor Victoria Keel

He stated: “If you come in here, I’m going to smash your heads with a hammer, I will shoot you in the back of the skull.”

Officers were unable to force entry into the property as he had put a barricade up at the front door which included a weight bench.

Scott went on to throw items and bottles at police as well as ripped out electric cables which started a small fire.

Prosecutor Victoria Keel said: “Eight households required to be evacuated which included elderly people and families.

“He appeared periodically at his balcony and threw various items including bottles presumed to be petrol bombs.

“Scott appeared wearing a balaclava and in possession of a dark barrelled item which police perceived to be a gun.”

He went on to claim that the property was “rigged” with an improvised device and that he would set himself on fire.

Scott appeared wearing a balaclava and in possession of a dark barrelled item which police perceived to be a gun

Prosecutor Victoria Keel

Scott refused to speak to a police negotiator before entry was eventually forced on the property.

A search recovered a small pipe which officers had believed was the gun.

Bob McDowall, defending, told the court that his client spent four days in Glasgow Royal Infirmary after the incident.

The lawyer said: “This was a very worrying incident and it is a very concerning course of behaviour.”

Sentence was deferred pending background reports by Sheriff Joan Kerr who continued Scott’s remand in custody meantime.

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HUMZA Yousaf has been no stranger to gaffes and controversies throughout his political career.

And following the news the former First Minister is stepping back fromfrontline politics, it’s an ideal time to reflect on some of his highlights, and low-lights.

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Fromer First Minister Humza Yousaf today announced he will resign from Holyrood in 2026[/caption]

The ex-Nats leader today confirmed he would step down from Holyrood at the next Scottish Parliament elections.

But what a legacy he has left behind – here’s just some of the times he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

2016 – Driving bungle

As exclusively revealed at the time by The Scottish Sun, then-Transport Minister Mr Yousaf was caught driving without insurance after being stopped in a pal’s motor by cops during a routine check near Dingwall. 

He described it as being a “genuine mistake” and blamed the error on a misunderstanding following a recent marriage break-up.

Mr Yousaf said he believed he was insured to drive a colleague’s motor – but a policy update did not cover him after his split from wife Gail, 27.

He was later fined £300 after admitting to the offence at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

2018 – Grit twit

Still in post as Transport Secretary, Mr Yousaf was hauled in to face MSPs after tweeting about funny gritter names while 200 drivers were stuck overnight on a snow-hit motorway.

He enraged motorists by boasting about salt trucks called Grittie McVittie and Sir Andy Flurry as people were stranded for up to 13 hours on the M74.

At the Scottish Parliament, he made a grovelling apology to drivers caught in the chaos but refused to admit that authorities had bungled their winter travel plans.

2020 – Hate crime

In his role as Justice Secretary, Mr Yousaf watered down his controversial hate crime bill after admitting it could harm “entirely legitimate” freedom of speech.

He bowed to pressure and changed a wide-ranging clause that could have left anyone guilty of “stirring up” hatred liable to seven-year jail terms.

Critics worried the law would be so broad that anyone could claim to take offence at virtually anything and cops would have to act.

When the legislation eventually came into force in April 2024, by which time Mr Yousaf was First Minister, there was a huge public backlash, notably from Harry Potter author JK Rowling. 

Within days, Police Scotland were flooded with thousands of complaints, including some made against Mr Yousaf himself for a speech he made in 2020 in which he listed examples showing the number of non-white people in Scotland.

2021 – Bug claim

Following the Holyrood election that year, Mr Yousaf was handed one of the most important roles in government by Nicola Sturgeon as her new Health Secretary.

Not only is it a big job at the best of times, but this was also when the country was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and various public health measures were in place.

Mr Yousaf was still fresh in the role when he caused alarm by claiming that ten children were in hospital “because of” the virus.

But after being urged to back up the worrying claim, Scottish Government officials eventually confirmed that the figure Mr Yousaf used was not actually for children being treated primarily for Covid.

He later expressed his “regret” if his remarks had caused any “undue alarm”.

2021 – Feud with Rangers

The day before his promotion to Health Secretary, Mr Yousaf sparked the anger of Rangers fans after he commented about a video which purported to show Gers players chanting “f*** the Pope” during league title celebrations that year.

Mr Yousaf said that if any player or member of staff was found to be guilty of anti-Catholic hatred, they should be “shown the door” by the club.

However, within days of the clip being shared online, Police Scotland said they had found “no criminality”, with the video having been doctored.

Despite this, Mr Yousaf last year said he did not regret posting the Tweet at the time and denied that he had rushed to comment.

2021 – Hitting the deck

In September of that year, Mr Yousaf was in a hurry to reach the Holyrood chamber where he was due to take questions from MSPs on Scotland’s ambulance crisis.

At the time, he was using a mobility scooter to get around parliament, having ruptured his Achilles tendon playing badminton. 

But as he raced along the corridor towards the chamber, followed by an aide carrying crutches who had to jog to keep up with him, Mr Yousaf’s foot snagged on the scooter and was sent flying. 

Unfortunately for Mr Yousaf, the embarrassing tumble was caught on camera and promptly posted on social media.

Failing to see the funny side, he issued a prickly response, writing: “Not sure there is need or purpose to tweet out a video of me falling over while injured. 

“If anyone else had fallen over while on crutches, a knee scooter, or in a wheelchair would your first instinct be to film it & tweet out?”

During an interview with The Scottish Sun last year, Mr Yousaf admitted that he “could have reacted better” to the incident and said it was not his “proudest moment” in politics.

2023 – Savaged by Kate Forbes

During what turned out to be a fiery SNP leadership contest, Mr Yousaf’s record in government was monstered by his rival Kate Forbes.

In a televised debate, she asked him: “Humza, you’ve had a number of jobs in government. When you were Transport Minister the trains were never on time. When you were justice minister, the police were strained to breaking point.

“And now, as health minister, we’ve got record-high waiting times. What makes you think you can do a better job as First Minister?” Ouch.

In October this year, Mr Yousaf admitted he made a mistake in not offering Ms Forbes a more significant role in his government after he won the contest after she turned down the job to head up rural affairs.

2023 – Ukraine gaffe

In the midst of the campaign to become SNP leader in March 2023, Mr Yousaf visited the Edinburgh branch of The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, just over a year after Russia’s invasion.

But he stunned a group of women he met when he jokingly asked them, “Where are all the men?” – before they explained that many of their partners had stayed in Ukraine to fight. 

Asked about the moment afterwards, he said: “They of course were rightly saying to me that for many of them their families are not able to make it, not all of their families are able to make it. I don’t think any of the women were at all offended or upset.”

2023 – Council tax freeze

Mr Yousaf angered council leaders after blindsiding them with a shock announcement that he intended to freeze council tax at the end of a drab SNP conference in Aberdeen. 

Local authority umbrella body Cosla raised serious concerns about the move as they issued warnings about the dire state of public finances.

At the Budget earlier this month, SNP Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced that the freeze would be removed.

2023 – Elon Musk

Billionaire owner of X Elon Musk and Mr Yousaf have been embroiled in a spat on the platform for the last few years.

Referring to Mr Yousaf’s “white” speech in 2020, Mr Musk described him as a “blatant racist”.

In retaliation, Mr Yousaf claimed Mr Musk is a “dangerous race baiter”.

Mr Yousaf has also since accused the billionaire of scouring his private messages as part of efforts to “besmirch” his repuation.

2023 – Greens row

In what ultimately proved to be his downfall as First Minister, Mr Yousaf terminated the SNP’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens.

It sparked a furious backlash from the Greens who accused him of “political cowardice” as they said he could no longer be trusted, while a motion of no confidence in him at Holyrood piled on the pressure.

Despite having initially vowed not to resign, Mr Yousaf eventually realised he was at the end of the road and announced his decision to quit as First Minister.

He has since admitted that his decision to end the agreement was a mistake and that he “underestimated” the hurt it caused.

The Fremantle Dockers women’s football team celebrated the end of year in the Lower South West last week, spreading their holiday joy across several local venues.