Swinney brands Reform councillor’s Sharia law claims 'ludicrous, absurd and divisive'

Claims made by a Reform UK councillor that Sharia instrumentality is being brought to Glasgow person been branded "ludicrous, absurd and divisive" by Scotland's archetypal minister.

Glasgow councillor Audrey Dempsey made the comments during an interview with Sky News Scotland analogous Connor Gillies.

Speaking astatine a gathering of the party's section branch, Ms Dempsey said: "When they arrived successful this state and they were fitting successful with our culture, our values and learning our mode of life, that would beryllium much than welcome."

Questioned astir what she meant by "our mode of life," she replied: "Instead of coming and trying to inflict their civilization connected different radical here, similar Sharia law, for instance, they're trying to bring that here, that's conscionable not thing we celebrate."

Pressed connected who she believes is bringing Sharia instrumentality to Scotland, Ms Dempsey stated: "The asylum seekers, immoderate of the asylum seekers, the ineligible migrants."

Asked wherever it was happening, she responded: "Do you not person conversations successful the street?"

When pushed to clarify her position, Ms Dempsey said: "You conscionable person to instrumentality a locomotion done the streets of Glasgow metropolis centre, immoderate fixed day."

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Ms Dempsey claimed determination was "stacks of grounds online," adding: "These migrants are posting themselves, videos of them saying they're coming to the onshore of beverage and honey, they're coming to instrumentality over."

Asked to clarify if she believed migrants were coming to "take over," Ms Dempsey added: "I don't rather cognize what I judge astatine the moment."

At Bute House successful Edinburgh aboriginal connected Thursday, First Minister John Swinney said helium didn't "believe for a moment" migrants were bringing Sharia instrumentality to Scotland's biggest city.

He stated: "That's what I deliberation is the information of wherever we are conscionable now, that perfectly ludicrous, absurd and divisive comments person been made by the acold close that person the hazard of undermining assemblage cohesion successful Scotland.

"Scotland has been a welcoming country, is simply a welcoming country, wherever we connect the top value to cohesion wrong our communities.

"That's what my enactment successful Scotland is each about, and I privation to springiness that principled, values-based enactment that volition defy those messages from the acold right."