Nigel Farage uses visit to Scotland to double down on attacks on Anas Sarwar

Nigel Farage has doubled down on his attacks on Anas Sarwar, with the Reform UK leader using a visit to Scotland to again accuse him of “sectarian politics”.

Mr Farage claimed the Scottish Labour leader has a “record of obsession” – citing a speech he gave in Holyrood in 2020 as evidence of this.

His comments came as he unveiled a new defection to his Reform UK party, with councillor Duncan Massey, who had been a Conservative representative on Aberdeen City Council, now a member.

Mr Farage also promised another defection, this time from Labour, would come on Monday afternoon as he visits Hamilton, where a Holyrood by-election is taking place.

That by-election has been dominated by a row over a Reform advert which has been branded “racist” by Reform’s opponents, and which claims that Mr Sarwar will “prioritise” the Pakistani community in Scotland.

Asked about this, Mr Farage insisted Reform UK “don’t talk about race at all”.

He pointed out his party’s chairman, Zia Yusuf, was someone who “is Scottish born, but comes from parents who come from the Indian subcontinent”.

Mr Farage continued: “We think everybody should be treated equally. We object, very strongly, to the segmentation of people into different types.”

Adding that the Scottish Labour leader has a “record of obsession on this issue”, he went on to reference a speech Mr Sarwar gave in 2020 where he noted that key figures across Scotland, from the judiciary, to council chief executives to head teachers, were all white.

Mr Farage said: “I think that speech he gave was sectarian in its very nature – we are the south Asian community, we are going to take over the country and take over the world.

“We believe what he said was a form of sectarian politics and we don’t like it one little bit.”

His comments came after First Minister John Swinney claimed the Reform UK leader “doesn’t care about Scotland”.

With an opinion poll having suggested Reform could be the second-largest party at Holyrood after next May’s Scottish elections, the SNP leader spoke about the “deeply concerning rise in support for Farage”.

Mr Swinney added: “Be in no doubt, Nigel Farage doesn’t care about Scotland. He poses a threat to our values and must be stopped, and only the SNP can do that.”

Mr Farage however declared that his party had “made remarkable strides in Scotland over the past year”.

Speaking as protesters gathered outside, the Reform UK leader said if the polls are to be believed “we are beginning to eclipse Labour to be the second most popular party in Scottish politics”.

Mr Farage again spoke out about the “madness” of the net zero policies being pursued by the governments at Holyrood and Westminster.

He told reporters these had left the oil and gas industry, which is centred in Aberdeen, “in serious decline”.

This “to a large extent… is wholly unnecessary”, the MP insisted, hitting out at the taxes imposed on the oil and gas sector, and also at the Labour Westminster Government’s opposition to licensing new fields.

Mr Farage continued: “2025 will be a year of record consumption of fossil fuels.

“We can con ourselves as much as we like, there will be more coal burnt this year than has ever been burnt in the history of mankind, and the same applies to gas and oil.

“Even the most ardent proponent of net zero has to accept the world will still be using oil and gas up until 2050 and beyond.

“And yet we have decided to sacrifice this industry as a consensus around net zero has emerged.”

As a result of this he said parts of Scotland, England and Wales were “literally deindustrialising before our very eyes”.

Mr Farage said: “The madness of this is almost completely and utterly beyond belief.”

Asked about the upcoming Hamilton by-election, Mr Farage said he was confident his party would place at least third, but if Reform won it would be the “biggest earthquake Scottish politics has ever seen”.

Responding to the Reform UK leader’s latest comments on Monday, Mr Sarwar said: “Today the chief clown Nigel Farage finally found his way to Scotland and showed just how totally out of touch with our country he is.

“Nigel Farage turned up, admitted he can’t win the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, and pledged to cut funding for Scotland’s NHS and public services.

“Nigel Farage is a dangerous clown and the people of Scotland see right through him.”

In an interview with the Scottish Sun on Monday, Mr Farage described Mr Swinney as “anti-English” following his outspoken attacks on the Reform leader.

“Swinney’s words are deeply provocative, which suggests the SNP leadership has learned nothing,” he told the newspaper.

“It suggests there is still that sort of quite unpleasant anti-Englishness.

“Why on earth would the top man in Scottish politics today come out with those sort of insults?”

Speaking to the PA news agency on Monday, Mr Swinney rejected the claims.

“I’ve always taken forward my politics on the basis of inclusion, of welcoming people, of working with others – that’s what I’m about,” he said.

“Nigel Farage is the opposite of that.

“Nigel Farage stokes division, he seeks to put people against each other and we’re bringing people together in Scotland to create the best future for our country.”