Nigel Farage Sparks Fresh Race Row By Making Another Bizarre Claim About Labour Leader

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party speaks at an event in London, Tuesday, May 27, 2025.Nigel Farage has sparked a fresh race row after wrongly claiming Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar once said he wants the South Asian community to “take over the world”.The Reform UK leader has already faced criticism over a “racist” election video which accused Sarwar of wanting to “prioritise” Pakistanis over other people.The online ad, published ahead of a crunch Scottish Parliamentr by-election this week, was made up from footage of several speeches Sarwar had made about the need to improve political representation for South Asian communities.However, at no point in any of them did he say he wanted to “prioritise the Pakistani community”.Sarwar subsequently called Farage a “pathetic poisonous little man” while his spokesperson said it was a “blatantly racist advert”.At a Reform UK press conference in Aberdeen today, the BBC’s James Cook asked Farage to respond to the criticism.The reporter asked: “Will you reassure them [your critics] that you’re not racist by apologising to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar for claiming that he would prioritise the Pakistani community when you must know that he literally said no such thing?”Farage replied: “We’ve not heard these sort of chants or tweets in England now for a very very long time.”He claimed it was Scottish first minister John Swinney who started using the word “racism” in a “deliberate and provocative way”.He also noted that Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf was born in Scotland to parents from the Indian subcontinent.“We believe everyone should be treated equally, we object very strongly to the segmentation of people into different types, ” Farage said. “To be frank, I think Mr Sarwar has a record of obsessing on this issue.”The Reform leader claimed: “I think the speech he gave was sectarian in its very nature. You know, ‘we are the South Asian community, we are going to take over the world’.”“He didn’t say any such thing!” Cook reminded him. “Well, he did actually, very very clearly,” Farage insisted.“He did not say the South Asian community were going to take over the world, nor did he use the word prioritise,” Cook pushed back. “I hear what you’re saying but why can’t you accept what he literally said and not mischaracterise what he said?”Farage replied: “We believe what he said was a form of sectarian politics and we don’t like it one little bit.”Pressed again for his response to the criticisms from Sarwar and Swinney over the campaign ad, Farage said: “The more they insult me, the more I know we must be doing something right.“I think they’re in a blind state of panic, they’re chucking out all sorts of insults.“For today, I will not return the compliment. We will let the public make their minds up. I’m not going to get involved in a war of words.”Related...Nigel Farage Accused Of 'Fantasy Economics' Over Plan To Cut Public Spending By £400 Billion'This Is Panic': Defence Secretary Forced To Deny Keir Starmer Is Rattled By Nigel FarageNigel Farage On Course For Commons Majority According To Latest Polls

Comments

Breaking news

Man convicted for involvement in Edinburgh Bonfire Night disorder

The Herald

Georgia Harrison to be awarded an MBE after campaigning on tackling violence against women following ex Stephen Bear's imprisonment

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

JoJo Siwa reveals the exact moment she and boyfriend Chris Hughes turned from friends to lovers as she shares their plans to get matching tattoos

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

NHS chiefs rip up 'pro-trans guidance' which allowed people to use toilets and changing rooms 'of their chosen gender' after Supreme Court ruling

about 3 hours ago

Comments

Similar News

Nigel Farage's party in chaos after Reform chairman QUITS post

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf QUITS as he says working for a Nigel Farage-led government 'is no longer a good use of my time'

Brits think ex-public schoolboy and City trader Nigel Farage is MORE working class than Keir Starmer... who grew up in a 'pebble-dash semi' as the 'son of a toolmaker'

'What Nigel Farage can teach Keir Starmer about politics'

Nigel Farage's party in chaos after Reform chairman slams own MP over 'dumb' question

Will the Reform surge storm Scotland? Nigel Farage's party 'vying with SNP' to win crunch Holyrood by-election TODAY… as Labour fear coming third

'Nigel Farage could become PM - this is how Labour can stop him'

Another poll shows Reform surge easing as Labour claws back ground - but Nigel Farage's party still leads

Scots butcher shop 'bars' Nigel Farage after t-bone steak by-election drama

Is Nigel Farage About To Give Keir Starmer Another Bloody Nose At The Ballot Box?

Keir Starmer rules out new Scots independence vote - and says FM Swinney hasn't even asked for one - as poll warns PM Nigel Farage is threat to union

Labour narrows the gap on Reform after PM's full-frontal attack on Nigel Farage - but insurgents still hold six-point poll lead

'No-Show Nigel': Farage Accused Of Not Attending His Own Media Event

Scots would pay price for Nigel Farage's proposed funding shakeup

'Coward': Nigel Farage dodges reporters as he skips Hamilton walkabout

Nigel Farage 'bottles' press event in Hamilton as left wing protestors blast Reform UK leader

Nigel Farage Accused Of Using Trump Tactics After Attacking Journalist At Press Conference

Nigel Farage's false claims exposed as journalist brutally calls him out at speech

Nigel Farage hits Scottish Labour leader with false race claim as Hamilton by-election row escalates

Nigel Farage met by protesters on visit to Scotland as he criticises Holyrood funding

Breaking news

Man convicted for involvement in Edinburgh Bonfire Night disorder

Mackintosh building to be sold by council for use as museum

NatWest banking app goes down leaving thousands unable to access their money

Three men appear in court accused arson attacks on properties linked to Keir Starmer

What Donald Trump has said about Jeffrey Epstein in the past

Spanish police cause uproar over photo of older women enjoying alfresco chat

Sunbed Wars 2025 arrives in Benidorm after holidaymakers ‘stampede’ for best loungers

Venue boss warns Edinburgh Festival Fringe may become a 'one-person show' event

In pictures: How the D-Day landings unfolded on June 6, 1944

Tonight’s EuroMillions £208,000,000 jackpot will be the biggest UK has ever seen

Gusts of 40mph set to hit UK this weekend before temperatures rise to 23C

Police Apologise After Casting Doubt On Claims Jonathan Joss' Murder Was A Homophobic Hate Crime

Trade Unionist Delivers Scathing Takedown Of Labour: 'Desperate Disappointment Is An Understatement'

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong charged under Beijing-imposed security law for second time

Modi inaugurates ambitious rail project connecting Kashmir to Indian plains

Soldier killed pregnant wife with a machete, then dumped her in the trash

‘NHS says I’m too big for surgery — now I’m spending my pension on weight-loss jabs’

Water firms would be foolish to increase salaries to get around bonus ban – Reed

Anti-austerity protest against Labour welfare cuts and defence spending expected to draw thousands

‘Send her home’: Son of Irish woman, 70, in Israeli detention pleads for her release

Tesla shares rebound on news of Musk and Trump talks after explosive feud cost firm $99bn in a day

New clues over massive Surrey sinkhole after network of tunnels discovered near street

Albania and Serbia face off in a politically charged World Cup qualifier

Steve Bannon calls for Trump to seize SpaceX now and deport Musk as feud spirals

AP PHOTOS: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip struggle to celebrate Eid al-Adha

Walmart's cake decorators stir up some rivalry with their affordable creations

AP PHOTOS: Multiple people killed and injured by Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv

Trump tells Putin: ‘It might be better to let Russia and Ukraine fight for a while’

Pret A Manger ‘considering stake sale ahead of possible flotation’

‘World War Douche’: Late night shows ruthlessly torch breakup of Trump-Musk bromance

Everyone can see ‘Bell’ but only those with a high IQ can spot the word ‘Ball’ in under 8 seconds

Body found in search for missing Pheobe Bishop as police bodycam video shows her flatmate being arrested for her murder

Popular jewellery sold on Amazon urgently recalled over harmful chemical that can ‘damage organs and cause cancer’

Woman bludgeoned mum to death with frying pan and tried to cover up attack

Woman to get £2,000 compensation from attacker after train station assault

Mum and son found dead in home as murder probe launched

SNP campaign in Hamilton branded 'embarrassing' as party faces 'wake-up call'

Glasgow Queen Elizabeth hospital had most Covid deaths probed by Crown Office

Scots woman 'saved by handprint bruise' after devastating cancer diagnosis

Couple created Scotland's first 'champagne' from an old potato field

Nurse struck off after scalding patient with boiling water and not reporting it

Three new Covid symptoms of NB.1.8.1 to know as latest strain lands in UK

Former SNP Health Secretary calls for John Swinney to resign after Hamilton by-election loss

Lanarkshire golf tournament in Natalie's memory raises record amount for Epilepsy Scotland

Dad murdered in horror Benidorm attack as hunt continues for killer

Trump and Musk's extraordinary spat minute-by-minute

'I stopped my 'horrific' Maccies order and lost 5 stone in a year'

'I'm running 500km dressed as giant testicles – the public always give the same response'

Madeleine McCann UPDATES: Bombshell new theory over disappearance of toddler

Lads in Liverpool brave 15 hour queue for Air Max 95s – and all have same plan after

BBC doctor says 40p item will 'sort out frazzled hair'

Warning issued to anyone with £10,000 in their savings account

Covid new variant symptoms include subtle sign in your cough - when it could be serious

'My medical check had perfect results - within weeks I was in chemo'

Daily Mirror pub quiz: 20 tough questions to challenge your brain!

Pheobe Bishop UPDATES: Human remains found in search for missing teenage girl

See the dramatic moment cops charge the accused killer of Pheobe Bishop with her murder at his parents' caravan