John Swinney has accused Reform UK of "inciting racial division in Scotland" after protests erupted in several towns and cities in response to a violent attack in Belfast.
Swinney Calls Out Reform MSPs at Holyrood
The First Minister today called out Malcolm Offord and Thomas Kerr in the Scottish Parliament after ugly scenes in Glasgow city centre on Tuesday night.
Police Scotland was forced to deploy dozens of officers in response after a so-called "white lives matter" demonstration, with similar events held in Edinburgh, Ayr and Greenock.
But the most shocking scenes unfolded in the Northern Irish capital where witnesses described homes and cars belonging to black people being deliberately set on fire by violent mobs.
Rioting broke out in Belfast following an "attempted beheading" which saw a 30-year-old male Sudanese national charged with attempted murder on Monday.
Offord Raises Immigration at Holyrood
Malcolm Offord, the Reform leader in Scotland, raised immigration at Holyrood today where he asked Swinney about "thousands of immigrants who arrive illegally in the UK [who] when granted leave to remain there then come specifically to Scotland".
The Reform MSP said people would present "as homeless because local authorities here have less discretion than in England about how they allocate accommodation".
He went on: "Now as a result, councils across Scotland are being forced to indefinitely pause the allocation of permanent accommodation to local Scots who've been on social housing waiting lists, in some cases for years, in order to provide temporary accommodation to the new arrivals instead."
Swinney Rebuts Offord's Claims
Responding, Swinney said: "Mr Offord is under a misconception about the local connection rules because the local connection rules that were changed by this government in 2022 did not change local connection rules for refugee households.
"The local connection rules in relation to refugee households have been in place for, I would think, in excess of 20 years in the current context. So Mr Offord is just fundamentally wrong in the point that he puts to me."
The SNP leader continued: "But there is a deeper point that is exposed by the question that Mr Offord puts to me, and that is that Mr Offord is trying to pursue an issue on immigration at the same time as his party is associated with the stirring up of hatred within our society.
"I just want to call it out for what it is, because during the election campaign, I made it abundantly clear I would not cooperate with Reform in this parliament because of the way in which they pursue this issue which incites racial hatred in our society."
Offord Denies Accusations
Offord claimed that Swinney had "thrown false accusations". He added: "Whatever is the problem, violence is not the answer. But that is not to ignore the problem.
"The reality is there's a very real problem with immigration which was created by the Tories and now exacerbated by Labour. We politicians have created this unrest in our society, and if we the politicians don't fix it democratically, other less savoury actors will fill that vacuum."
Swinney Condemns Disorder
Swinney hit back: "I fear that the issues around less savoury characters are not too far from home.
"On Tuesday there was disorder in the streets of Scotland and particularly in the city of Glasgow which I unreservedly condemn, and I condemned it yesterday.
"At the same time as I was condemning it, Thomas Kerr, sitting beside Mr Offord, was saying to people that it was important that people went out and protested last night … And what happened last night?
"Well, in Greenock, a town very close to Mr Offord's heart, I know that, police officers were attacked. Two officers sustained minor injuries and damage was caused to police vehicles, as the police were simply doing their duty of protecting the citizens of our country."
