FORMER drugs minister Elena Whitham stood down because of a “credible” threat to her and her staff, she said today.

The SNP MSP was elected to represent Cumnock, Carrick and Doon Valley in 2021, going on to be appointed drugs and alcohol minister by Humza Yousaf in 2023.

Just 11 months later, she resigned, citing post-traumatic stress disorder, later announcing she would not run for a second term.

Speaking to the Herald newspaper, Ms Whitham revealed the underlying cause was threats to both her life and those of her staff by a man later convicted of the offence.

Ms Whitham said: “The police treated it very seriously. And then the realisation was, ‘We are not blowing something out of proportion. This is actually a credible threat.

“I could not get out of the loop of thinking about it. It was affecting everything that I was doing.”

Expressing “deep regret,” she added: “You needed to have somebody who was absolutely [able to] give their all to it, and I just wasn’t able to towards the end.

“So there was no other choice for me but to step away.”