John Swinney accuses Reform of ‘inciting racial hatred’

First Minister John Swinney has accused Reform UK of inciting racial hatred after a second night of disorder in Scotland.

Three men were arrested and charged after officers attended a march through Glasgow city centre on Tuesday evening, which was taking place in response to a knife attack in Belfast.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell said people were “attacked because of the colour of their skin”.

A further two arrests were made in Greenock on Wednesday, where three police officers were injured at a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers.

The first minister condemned the violence, adding he wanted to ensure “Scotland always remains a tolerant, welcoming and inclusive country”.

He went on to criticise comments made by Reform politicians, who he accused of “stirring up hatred in our society”.

He was responding to questions from Reform’s Scotland leader Malcolm Offord, who urged the first minister to reinstate a local connection rule for homeless applications made to councils, which would “restore powers to put local Scots first”.

In England, the local connection rule means a person is only eligible for assistance from a housing authority if they are normally resident in an area, are employed there, or have family connections.

This rule was changed in 2022 in Scotland, enabling people to make a homelessness application to any council in Scotland, giving homeless households more choice on where they lived.

Offord told the chamber that “thousands” of immigrants had come to Scotland to present as homeless due to these rule changes, which he said meant “local” people were not prioritised.

Regarding the disorder in Belfast, the Reform leader said violence was “not the answer”.

But he added: “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. Weak 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.

“So, in Scotland, will the first minister now take immediate action to restore the priority need for local Scots for scarce housing resources, and give priority to local Scots ahead of strangers?”

He went on to say that 20 refugees per week were arriving in Glasgow, most of whom were “fighting-age men with undisclosed nationality”. He suggested the protests were the “consequences” of this.

Swinney said Offord was pursuing this issue “at the same time his party is associated with the stirring up of hatred within our society”.

He added: “Members of the public will ask, and they say this to me when I’m out and about in the country, how on earth has Scotland become like this?

“Well, Scotland has become like this because people over on that side of the chamber – Malcolm Offord, Thomas Kerr, various others – are inciting racial division in our society, and this government will stand up to all of that.”

In particular, Swinney rounded on comments made by Reform’s deputy Thomas Kerr. Kerr told reporters yesterday that people should “go out there” to protest – though he said this should not involve vandalism, racism or violence.

The first minister said Offord should “condemn his colleague Thomas Kerr right now”.

Offord reiterated that “violence is not the way to protest”, but added protest was a “valid mechanism to make one’s views heard”. On the comments about stirring up hatred, he said the FM was “throwing false accusations at my party”.

Speaking to reporters after FMQs, Kerr said Swinney had misrepresented his comments. He said violence and racism was “disgraceful” and “disgusting”, but people had a right to protest.

He also defended his use of the word “strangers”, saying: “I'm a working class guy and I'll use the language I always use.” 

Green co-leader Gillian Mackay raised the disorder and protests across Scotland in the chamber, describing attacks as “utterly shameful”.

“Nobody should be made to feel unsafe in our streets, and it’s horrific that so many people have been. There are no so-called legitimate concerns that can justify this kind of hateful action,” she added.

She also condemned Reform politicians for having “fanned the flames of hate and actively welcomed racist and antisemitic members”.

Noting the role social media had in these protests, including posts made by X owner Elon Musk, she urged the Scottish Government to change the classification of such platforms to publishers which would hold them accountable for “hateful and misleading online content”.

Swinney agreed to consider such action, adding he was working with the UK Government to address issues relating to online safety.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay and Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex-Cole Hamilton also all condemned the violence.