Latest news with #sectarianism
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Belfast: Man arrested after sectarian attacks on homes
A 45-year-old man has been arrested by police investigating sectarian-motivated attacks on houses in north Belfast. Masonry was thrown at properties on Annalee Street and Alloa Street by masked suspects on 21 May.A number of families whose homes were targeted in the cross-community housing development later said they planned to leave the man, who was detained on Tuesday, has been charged with criminal damage and is expected to appear in court in Belfast next month.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Watch: Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar brands Nigel Farage ‘a pathetic little man'
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has labeled Nigel Farage 'a clown' and 'pathetic' in response to a Reform UK campaign advert accusing Sarwar of 'introducing sectarianism to Scottish politics'. 'The reality is, this is just a pathetic little man, hungry for attention, trying to bring his brand of divisive politics and hate into Scotland,' Sarwar told the Press Association. The ad, which was played at a Reform party press conference on Tuesday (27 May) ahead of a Holyrood by-election next week, shows clips of Sarwar calling for more South Asian representation in politics, along with text on screen claiming he would 'prioritise' the Pakistani community - despite Mr Sarwar not making such a suggestion during the speech. Both Labour and Scottish Minister John Swinney have described the video as 'racist'.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Accusing Sarwar of sectarianism looks like a stupid error by Farage
A bitter dispute between Nigel Farage and Anas Sarwar including the hurling of insults about who was first to bring sectarian issues into the campaign looks like setting the tone for crucial by-election on June 5. The evidence is pretty conclusive that Mr Farage's Reform UK started that war of words through his party's use of a three-year-old Labour campaign video which contained clips of Mr Sarwar in which it was said he claimed he would 'prioritise Pakistani voters'. However, the Scottish Labour leader did not use the words he's accused of saying. He didn't use those words at all. What he said was that he wanted to see more people from the South Asian community getting involved in politics. What was attributed to him in the campaign video was merely what Reform's campaign team thought he meant – or even what they might have liked him to mean. They attributed to him their interpretation of his views, ones they hope contrast with their instance that the voters of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse are their priority. Labour colleagues of Mr Sarwar, as well as John Swinney, Scotland's First Minister and SNP leader, claimed Reform had introduced a sectarian element into the contest, one in which both Reform UK and Scottish Labour hope to win. But in what his supporters may well describe as a competent and professionally delivered press conference the overall image was damaged by what looked like a stupid error by Reform – especially one so close to a crucial by-election that it has high hopes of winning. They eventually admitted that Reform had attributed to the Scottish Labour leader words he hadn't used. But someone should have done that earlier. In an attempt to repair things Mr Farage must have mystified the ranks of Fleet Street's finest at his press conference when he produced another clip of the aforesaid video, but without the offending words. I can't imagine that many in the room had a clue what all of this Scottish stuff was about, but for the Reform leader it was complete vindication. After playing the clip, he said: 'So it was Anas Sarwar that introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics – making it perfectly clear his priority was to a certain section of the community.' But that again is an interpretation – simply the Reform leader's opinion of Mr Sarwar's priority. It is not a proven fact. For his part the Scottish Labour leader commented: 'This was a blatant attempt from Nigel Farage to try and poison our politics here in Scotland.' The SNP candidate is favourite to win the by-election, caused by the death of a very popular and long serving minister. But Reform is said to be taking votes off both Labour and the SNP. It would be incredible if Reform won, although Labour strategists claim that the Farage/Sarwar spat is harming the Reform candidate. But then, they would say that, wouldn't they?
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Farage accuses Sarwar of sectarianism after defending ‘racist' by-election advert
Nigel Farage has accused Anas Sarwar of 'sectarianism' after the Scottish Labour leader said that a Reform UK advert was 'dog-whistle racism'. The by-election campaign advert used clips of a speech by Mr Sarwar in which he said he wanted more people from South Asian backgrounds to stand for election. The clips were preceded by the caption 'Anas Sarwar has said he will prioritise the Pakistani community', a phrase Mr Sarwar did not use. On Tuesday, the Reform leader defended the attack ad and said Mr Sarwar's speech had 'introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics'. But his intervention came shortly after his party's candidate in the Holyrood by-election admitted Mr Sarwar did not use the words 'prioritise the Pakistani community' and the phrase was a 'quote from us'. Ross Lambie vehemently denied 'misleading people', arguing that prioritising the Pakistani community was what the 'whole speech is about'. Mr Sarwar was joined by SNP First Minister John Swinney in accusing Reform UK of racism but Mr Farage doubled down on his party's claims at a keynote speech in London. He played the advert to the audience and insisted that all his party had done was to 'put out the exact words spoken by him [Sarwar] without any comment'. Mr Farage argued that the attacks from Labour and the SNP demonstrated that 'maybe we're getting something right' and that 'we are winning' the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, which is being held on June 5. Support for Reform is said to be strong on the doorstep, with Labour facing the threat of being pushed into third place, in a major political humiliation. Mr Farage is due to visit the campaign trail next week. The advert has been running on Facebook and Instagram since May 12 and cost Reform £15,000. It is estimated to have been viewed around 600,000 times. It featured video clips of a speech Mr Sarwar delivered in 2022 at an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of Pakistan's independence. In one section, he said: 'Pakistanis need represented in every mainstream political party in Scotland and across the UK'. Another excerpt featured Mr Sarwar stating that 'the days where South Asian communities get to lead political parties and get to lead countries is upon us'. However, he did not directly state he would prioritise the Pakistani community. Mr Sarwar was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents and his father, Mohammad Sarwar, became the UK's first Muslim MP when he was elected to represent Glasgow Govan in 1997. He was later the governor of Punjab in Pakistan. After playing the advert at the Reform event, Mr Farage said: 'So it was Anas Sarwar that introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics. Making it perfectly clear his priority was to a certain section of the community. 'All we've done, all we've done is to put out the exact words spoken by him without any comment, we've said nothing, just that we will represent the people of that constituency. 'And the fact that they, having chosen to go down the sectarian route, choose to throw accusations back at us, says to me that we are winning.' Threat of libel action Mr Lambie, who defected from the Tories to Reform in March, accepted that Reform had used the phrase rather than Mr Sarwar but denied this was racist, telling BBC Radio Scotland that Reform was 'advertising Anas Sarwar's own words', adding: 'We're not misleading people at all.' He threatened Mr Swinney with libel action if the First Minister repeated his accusation that the advert was racist and suggested Mr Sarwar had complained about the advert to 'deflect' attention from Labour's 'car crash' campaign. Mr Lambie said Reform had highlighted the speech because it demonstrated that the Left wanted to build a 'two-tier society', with people being given preferential treatment if they belonged to a minority group. The South Lanarkshire councillor said Nigel Farage's party believed that 'people should be in a position of power based on their merit and their contribution to society'. He added that 'we shouldn't be trying to foist various minority groups' into prominent roles. Mr Sarwar last week accused Reform of 'dog-whistle' racism over the advert, which he said 'seeks to question my identity, question my loyalty and question my belonging in Scotland'. Mr Swinney this week accused Reform of launching a 'racist attack' on Mr Sarwar and of trying to 'deceive' voters with the advert. 'Scummy tactics' He also joined Labour in urging social media giant Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, to remove the advert from its platforms. Aisha Mir, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the by-election said the video was 'scummy tactics.' Responding to Mr Farage's comments Mr Sarwar said 'This is a blatant attempt from Nigel Farage to try and poison our politics here in Scotland. I have fought against sectarianism all my adult life. 'I was working in Scotland's NHS while Nigel Farage was on the gravy train in Brussels, and now I am trying to change our country while he tries to divide it. 'Nigel Farage is a poisonous man who doesn't understand Scotland, doesn't care about Scotland, and that's why Scotland will reject him.'
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Nigel Farage defends party's 'racist' ad attacking Labour's Anas Sarwar and accuses him of introducing 'sectarianism'
Nigel Farage has accused Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar of having 'introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics'. The Reform UK leader defended his party's attack ad against Mr Sarwar as he played it in full at a press conference in London which was aired live by national broadcasters. Labour and the SNP have condemned the ad, which Reform UK spent thousands of pounds on, as 'racist' and have called for Meta to remove it from Facebook. In the video, clips are played of Mr Sarwar encouraging people from south Asian communities to get involved in politics. Defending the ad after playing it to a room of journalists, Mr Farage said: 'So it was Anas Sarwar that introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics, making it perfectly clear his priority was to a certain section of the community. 'All we've done is to put out the exact words spoken by him without any comment, we've said nothing, just that we will represent the people of that constituency. 'The fact that they, having chosen to go down the sectarian route, choose to throw accusations back at us says to me that we are winning.' In the ad, Reform claims Mr Sarwar, who was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents, will 'prioritise' Pakistani people. Mr Sarwar has described the Reform UK leader's comments as a 'blatant attempt' to 'try and poison our politics' Mr Farage played the controversial advert on a TV during a press conference in London Mr Sarwar is not heard saying that, with clips showing him saying: 'Pakistanis need (to be) represented in every mainstream political party in Scotland and across the UK.' The clip then cuts to a different part of the speech, with Mr Sarwar saying: 'The days where south Asian communities get to lead political parties and get to lead countries is upon us.' Mr Sarwar has condemned the ad as a 'very deliberate dog whistle'. Responding to the latest comments by Mr Farage, Mr Sarwar said: 'This is a blatant attempt from Nigel Farage to try and poison our politics here in Scotland. 'I have fought against sectarianism all my adult life.' Mr Sarwar, who is a qualified dentist, added: 'I was working in Scotland's NHS while Nigel Farage was on the gravy train in Brussels, and now I am trying to change our country while he tries to divide it. 'Nigel Farage is a poisonous man who doesn't understand Scotland, doesn't care about Scotland, and that's why Scotland will reject him.' The Scottish Labour leader has previously said he believes Reform UK is questioning his identity, belonging and 'loyalty to the country' with its advert. He had added: 'I am a Scot, a proud Scot. Having worked in Scotland's NHS, I want to deliver a fairer and better Scotland. 'What these guys are, are chancers who want to play on people's fears, to divide us rather than actually deliver meaningful solutions for the people of Scotland.' The ad is part of Reform UK's campaign in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, which will be held next week. Reacting to the latest development, Scottish Greens Co-Leader Patrick Harvie MSP said: 'This advert was a despicable attempt to bring blatant racism into the by-election. This hateful kind of politics can't be welcomed into Scotland.'
