Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has launched a scathing attack on Reform UK's Scottish leader Malcolm Offord, calling him "a liar" and "a pathetic, poisonous, odious little man" following a contentious Channel 4 leaders' debate.
The explosive exchange occurred after Offord claimed during Tuesday's televised debate that Sarwar had previously approached him about forming a political alliance to defeat the SNP. Offord stated that following a BBC Question Time panel in Paisley last December, Sarwar "came bouncing over to me" and suggested they should "work together, Labour and Reform, to remove the SNP."
Sarwar vehemently denied the allegation, describing it as "nonsense" during the debate and later calling it "a desperate lie from a desperate man." Speaking to BBC Scotland on Wednesday, Sarwar declared: "Let me be unequivocal: no stitch-ups, no deals, no backroom chats, no back-channel contact with Reform. I only want one deal, and that is with the people of Scotland."
Offord maintained his version of events, telling BBC Scotland that Sarwar had made the approach in the green room after the Question Time episode. "I couldn't believe it when in the green room afterwards he came bouncing over to me on the way out," Offord recounted. He added that Sarwar had made personal attacks against him on television three times and that there was "no way" he could work with Labour after the election.
The debate also featured heated exchanges over immigration policy, with Sarwar accusing Reform of racism over controversial billboard advertisements showing a small boat with asylum seekers under the slogan "Scotland is at breaking point." Sarwar challenged Offord directly, asking: "Where do you want them to go, Malcolm?" referring to Reform's immigration policies.
Offord defended the advertisements, stating: "The idea of that billboard was to say illegal asylum seekers, they come into England, but they come to Scotland, they come to Glasgow. What Reform is doing is honestly reflecting the views of local Scottish people, especially in our working class communities who feel they are being pushed to the back of the queue."
Other party leaders weighed in on the controversy, with SNP leader John Swinney claiming the debate had exposed "a grubby deal" and suggesting Sarwar would "happily work with Reform if it gave him a whiff of power." Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay dismissed the exchange as "a complete and utter distraction," accusing both leaders of "squabbling like a pair of schoolchildren."
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer warned that a Labour/Reform coalition would be "a disaster for Scotland," while Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton described talk of such a deal as "dirty tricks."
The debate also touched on energy policy, with Offord siding with former US President Donald Trump's call to "drill, baby, drill" for more North Sea oil and gas, while Swinney expressed disagreement with Trump's position.
With elections approaching next month, Sarwar made his position clear: "I want to see Reform get hammered in the election." The public clash highlights the increasingly contentious political landscape in Scotland as parties position themselves ahead of the upcoming vote.