Anas Sarwar challenges Nigel Farage to debate in Hamilton

“What I suggest to Nigel Farage is he should ask his chauffeur to put Hamilton into Google Maps. Come up here. I will challenge him anytime, anyplace in Hamilton, any town hall — and he can challenge me on his views. I will challenge him on his views,” he said.

A source close to Reform UK confirmed that Mr Farage is expected to visit Hamilton early next week.

READ MORE

• SNP has betrayed voters - no wonder Reform is on the march in Scotland
• Farage branded poisonous after he accuses Sarwar of sectarianism
• ‘Not divisive’: Tory candidate in Hamilton by-election defends Orange Order ties
• John Swinney slams Reform UK for 'racist attack' on Anas Sarwar

The row stems from a Reform UK campaign video posted on social media earlier this month, which includes edited clips from a 2022 speech in which Mr Sarwar called for greater South Asian representation in politics.

Reform UK added a caption claiming Mr Sarwar “said he will prioritise the Pakistani community” — a phrase he did not use.

Asked whether he sought to prioritise Pakistanis, Mr Sarwar said: “It is utterly ridiculous to say that. As someone who has been in Scottish politics for 15 years, and served all communities of all faiths and backgrounds, to hear that is utterly ridiculous.

“I am seeking to be Scotland’s First Minister — a First Minister that wants to serve every part of our country and every person in our country. But let me just say a bit more about what this is. This is Nigel Farage, a pathetic, poisonous, little man who wants to use divisive rhetoric to spread fear and division for his own political gain. Someone who has no interest in Scotland, no care for Scotland, no understanding of Scotland — but wants to play this kind of despicable act.”

Mr Sarwar said the Reform UK leader “wants to pretend he is the great champion of working people across our country”.

“While I was working in Scotland's NHS and one of the most deprived communities in the country, he was on the Brussels gravy train. While I am campaigning to defend our NHS and save our NHS, this man wants to privatise it. He has no interest in Scotland — he probably could not even tell you where Hamilton is.”

READ MORE

• Emergency public meeting called over controversial Flamingo Land decision
• Rural Scots in four regions given ‘significant’ 4G coverage boost
• NHS governance must improve to deliver health reforms - report

Asked whether speaking out risked giving Mr Farage more attention, Mr Sarwar said: "There is no doubt that Nigel Farage wants us to talk about, and there's no doubt he wants to play up on this divisive rhetoric in order to get attention, because the man craves the attention", rather than actually wanted to change our country. "

At a press conference on Monday, Mr Farage defended the video, claiming: “It was Anas Sarwar that introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics.”

He insisted that the party had merely shared “the exact words spoken by him without any comment" - despite the fact that the “prioritise” claim was added by Reform.

In the video, Mr Sarwar said: “We will only and truly get real power if not if we just have more Pakistanis sitting in council chambers and parliaments, but actually having more Pakistanis and south Asians sitting in the corridors of power making the decisions.

The clip from the speech went viral earlier this month after being highlighted by a GB News presenter, who suggested it was an example of how multiculturalism had failed.

In the speech, Mr Sarwar said: “The change is coming. The days where our South Asian community are viewed as a vote bank or a curry bank are well and truly gone

“The days where South Asians get to lead political parties and get to lead countries is now upon us.

“The days when South Asian communities get to decide not just what school our children go to but what they are taught in those schools is also coming.”

Mr Sarwar was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents.

His father, Mohammad Sarwar, became the UK’s first Muslim MP when he was elected to represent Glasgow Govan in 1997. He later served as governor of Punjab in Pakistan.

According to the Meta advert library, the video has been viewed between 600,000 and 700,000 times, primarily by men aged 25–34, at a cost of up to £15,000.

The by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse — triggered by the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie — takes place on June 5.

During the BBC interview, Mr Sarwar was asked about the reluctance of Labour’s candidate, Davy Russell, to take part in media interviews. He said it was a matter for the campaign team.