On the BBC’s Debate Night programme on Wednesday evening, politicians once again condemned a Reform advert that has been called out as racist.
Reform was found to have promoted an advert on Facebook and Instagram which claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar would “prioritise the Pakistani community.”
Reform shared this video and called Sarwar a “pathetic little man.”
He responsed with a video and wrote: “What a pathetic little man Nigel Farage is.”
Debate Night
Wednesday’s programme featured Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Reform UK councillor Thomas Kerr, Scottish Tory MSP Craig Hoy, Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie, Scottish LibDems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, and Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater.
The SNP’s Forbes hit out at Kerr over the party’s claim that the advert was simply publishing “the exact words” spoken by Sarwar.
She said: “It was racist, but there’s something else that’s troubling. It was dishonest.
“If you want to restore trust in politics, you need honesty.
“If you want to ensure that we move forward together and cut any division that you’re talking about, that has to be based on honesty and trust.”
She added: “The reason why people feel let down is because they were promised change last year by Labour, it wasn’t delivered, and you’ve got another party now coming in saying ‘we’re different, we’re the anti-establishment party’, and the first thing they’ve done is broken trust.”
BBC video
BBC Debate Night shared the video and wrote: “It was dishonest… if you want to restore trust in politics, you need honesty”
“This is all a deflection.”
“You put that out there knowing it would create a political row.”
The panel debate alleged racism in Reform UK’s advert featuring Labour’s Anas Sarwar.
Related: Nigel Farage’s comments on Lucy Connolly slammed as he demands working men’s club debate
