New SNP MP accused of 'faking Scottish accent' after crossing-fingers during oath

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Lara Bird, SNP MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, was sworn in at Parliament on Monday.

During the oath, in which MPs are required to swear allegiance to King Charles, she appeared to cross her fingers. Immediately after the oath, chatter breaks out in the House of Commons.

Now, Ms Bird has been accused of faking her Scottish accent, as videos emerge of her with an English accent on social media. It contrasts her swearing-in video, where she has a distinctive Dundee brogue.

The controversial finger-crossing move has already sparked backlash from critics who accused her of making a "mockery" of Parliament. She hit back at criticism and said: "I'm not the first MP to have done this and I'm confident I won't be the last".

She added: "It is pretty telling though, that the Westminster establishment find it so offensive that a new MP would pledge allegiance to her constituents."

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Read More: My first allegiance will always be the sovereign people of Scotland: New SNP MP Lara Bird accused of making ‘mockery’ of MP oath by ‘crossing her fingers’

The MP previously shared footage of the moment on social media, describing her MP position as a “privilege”.

Standing before Parliament, she says: “I take this oath only so that I can serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. My first allegiance is and always will be the sovereign people of Scotland.

She captioned the video on X: "Today, I was officially sworn in at Parliament. I took this Oath in order to serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry - and declared that my loyalty will always be to the people of Scotland.

“It is a privilege to serve and represent our communities as your Member of Parliament.”

Although she was raised in Scotland, her mother's side of the family are English. She went to a private school in Dundee, and then took a law degree at the University of Sheffield in 2018 before moving to London.

Before the by-election, Bird explained the accent switch to The Courier, claiming that she move to Broughty Ferry in 2024, meaning "the Dundonian accent comes back a wee bit stronger".

Rachael Hamilton, deputy leader of the Scottish Tories, said: "A cynic might question whether her attempt to disguise her accent is a reaction to the anti-English feelings many within the SNP harbour."

However, SNP supporters of Bird, whose legal surname is Bird-Leakey and who has also gone by the forename Pyla, insists she is a victim of sexism.

Responding to criticism from Reform UK’s Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, an SNP spokesman said that while Bird was “getting on with the job” of representing her constituents, he was “poking fun at women’s accents”.

The spokesman said: “Lara Bird MP is half-Scottish, half-English. She grew up in Scotland and has also lived in England. Unlike Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, the SNP doesn’t judge people on their accents or where they come from.

“Nor do the people of Arbroath & Broughty Ferry, who elected Lara Bird MP with a majority of 5,278 votes, while the Reform Party trailed behind in a distant third place.”

The swearing in footage sparked controversy earlier this week, with one user commenting: “You shouldn’t be an MP if you’re going to disrespect the House and can’t take your oath properly.”

Another wrote: “If you had a genuine hinterland and any principles, then you’d have refused to take the oath: I may disagree with Sinn Féin members, but I respect their stance. Crossing fingers is the act of someone better suited for the playground.”

Some users have accused the MP of being “childish”, writing: Crossing your fingers while taking the parliamentary oath isn’t a clever protest - it’s childish and undermines the seriousness of the role you’ve just been elected to.

"It comes across like a 10-year-old trying to get away with telling a fib to their mum.”

They went on: “You were elected to serve your constituents in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, not to turn a formal constitutional requirement into a stunt.

“If you have such deep objections to the oath, the honest thing would be to decline it properly rather than perform this immature gesture.

"Actions like this don’t strengthen the case for Scottish independence—they make your side look unserious and disrespectful to the institution you’re now part of" they added.

One user wrote: “Your oath means nothing as you made it patently clear you don't believe what you were saying – pathetic”.

But this has been met with pushback from another user who responded: “She did for the people of Scotland. Educate yourself”

In a statement, Lara Bird said: "On my first day in the job I wanted to make very clear that my true commitment and allegiance will always be to my constituents here and more widely to the people of Scotland.

"I made it clear in my campaign that I entered politics to serve my local community and my country and that's what I intend to do every single day that I am honoured to be elected to serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry.

"I'm not the first MP to have done this and I'm confident I won't be the last - it's pretty telling though that the Westminster establishment find it so offensive that a new MP would pledge allegiance to her constituents."