Reform UK spends £7k on 'outrageous' ads suggesting Scottish labour leader wants to 'prioritise Pakistani community'

22 May 2025, 06:19

Reform UK has spent £7k on adverts suggesting the leader of Scottish Labour wants to "prioritise the Pakistani community", we can reveal.

Speaking to LBC, Anas Sarwar has today branded the party's video promotion running ahead of a Scottish Parliament by-election as "outrageous".

Appearing on Facebook and Instagram it begins with a faded photo of him and the words 'Anas Sarwar has said he will prioritise the Pakistani community".

It then cuts to clipped footage from a speech the Scottish Labour leader made in 2022 at a fundraiser dinner in honour of the 75th Anniversary of Pakistan independence where he states: "Pakistan needs to be represented in every mainstream political party in Scotland and across the UK.

"The days where South Asian communities get to lead political parties and get to lead countries is now upon us."

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It then finishes with the words "Only Reform UK will prioritise the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. Vote Reform UK Thursday 5 June."

Scottish Labour issued a damning statement last month when a slightly longer version of the footage used in this advert was shared by thousands of accounts on X claiming it showed Mr Sarwar supported Pakistani and South Asian people “taking over” British government rather than advocating for better political representation for those communities, which read: “This clip has been taken out of all context by individuals with a hard-right agenda to use as a dog whistle to poison our politics".

And responding to its latest use in this Reform UK advert, Anas Sarwar told us: "This is outrageous tactics from reform activists - to use advertising that somehow wants to claim and question my loyalty and identity.

"I'm born in Scotland, I love Scotland, Scotland is my home.

"I'm Scottish to my very core and I want to deliver for the people of Scotland.

"Whilst they want to do online advertisements trying to question my loyalty and where my priorities lie, I'm going to get on with talking to the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

Meta's publicly accessible analytics show Reform UK has been running the advert since the 12th of May on both Facebook and Instagram.

At least £7000 has been spent pushing it to an audience of between 100,000 and 500,000 accounts, making 400,000 impressions.

We have asked Reform UK to comment.