Reform candidate rejects racism claims after Sarwar video row
The party has faced widespread criticism for its portrayal of the Scottish Labour leader.
The Facebook and Instagram advert uses heavily edited footage from a 2022 speech by Mr Sarwar in which he called for greater South Asian representation in politics.
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The clip — which has been viewed more than 800,000 times — included a caption claiming Mr Sarwar wanted to 'prioritise the Pakistani community', a phrase he did not use.
Both Scottish Labour and the SNP have described the video as racist and called on Meta — the company that owns the social media platforms — to remove it.
Mr Sarwar, who was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents, ha challenged Mr Farage to a public debate.
'Ask your chauffeur to put Hamilton into Google Maps,' he said during a BBC interview on Wednesday. 'Come up here. I will challenge him anytime, any place in Hamilton, any town hall — and he can challenge me on his views. I will challenge him on his views.'
He branded the Reform UK leader a 'pathetic, poisonous, little man'.
Mr Farage is due to visit Scotland on Monday, and will be making a speech in Aberdeen in the morning. He is also expected to join the campaign.
Asked about the video, Ross Lambie told The Herald: 'Reform's position on this has always been that we believe in merit.
'People should get positions of power, promotion and work because of their merit. It should not matter what age they are, whether a man or a woman, or what ethnicity they are.
'Whereas the SNP and Labour have gone down this rabbit hole of DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] and want to try and socially engineer the makeup of companies, governments and councils. We just do not believe in that.'
He added: 'My wife is an immigrant. She worked for the BBC at one point. She is from a Muslim country. I have a mixed-race daughter. You judge Reform based on the people in it — like me, from a working-class background, my parents are from the council estate just down the road.'
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Voters in the constituency go to the polls on Thursday in the by-election triggered by the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie.
Last night, First Minister John Swinney claimed the vote was now a 'straight contest' between the SNP and Mr Farage's party.
In comments issued ahead of a campaign visit to Hamilton, he said: 'Labour have let people across Scotland down, and they have quite clearly given up on this by-election.
'Thursday's vote is now a straight contest between the SNP and Nigel Farage — and I am urging people to reject the ugly, divisive politics of Nigel Farage and to unite behind the SNP.'
Scottish Labour rejected the claim they had conceded the seat.
eputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the constituency remained a two-horse race between Labour and the SNP.
She said Reform 'cannot win here', adding: 'This is a direct fight between Scottish Labour and the SNP, no matter how much Reform and the SNP want to pretend otherwise.
'This weekend, Scottish Labour campaigners will be talking to voters the length and breadth of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse so we can deliver a new direction for this community and elect local champion Davy Russell.'
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