SCOTTISH Labour have hit out at Line of Duty star Martin Compston, accusing him of “parroting the SNP’s absolute nonsense”.
Anas Sarwar’s party took a swipe at the Scottish actor ahead of him joining First Minister John Swinney on the Holyrood campaign trail in Greenock on Friday.
Compston, who is from the Inverclyde town, had warned about the possibility of a Reform-Labour deal after the Scottish parliament elections on May 7.
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Speaking ahead of joining Swinney on the election campaign, Compston said: “Nigel Farage isn’t interested in Scotland – he wants to cut our budget, shrink our Parliament, and would privatise our NHS if he got half the chance. We should have none of it.
“And the fact that Labour are willing to work with him shows just how far they have fallen.
“On May 7, the way to keep Farage’s toxic politics out of Scotland is for people to unite behind the SNP – and the way to lock Farage out of Scotland for good is by becoming an independent country.”
Sarwar has strenuously denied that he would seek a deal with Reform UK. However, the party’s leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, has insisted that the Labour group leader offered him a pact after a Question Time broadcast in Paisley last December.
Graham Simpson, who was Reform’s sole MSP in the last parliament after defecting from the Tories, has further claimed that Sarwar approached him on multiple occasions to say that their two parties should work together in order to stop the SNP forming another government.
In response to Compston suggesting that a Reform-Labour deal could be on the cards, a spokesperson for Scottish Labour said: “While he has made a career out of reading other people’s lines, it is certainly disappointing to see Martin Compston parroting the SNP’s absolute nonsense.
“Perhaps if he takes a closer look at their dismal campaign of misinformation and smears, he will see how utterly desperate they have become and distance himself from the SNP.”
Swinney, for his part, ruled out working with Reform UK in any capacity.
“I am absolutely clear – I will have nothing to do with Nigel Farage, his man in Scotland, Lord Offord, or Reform UK,” the SNP leader said. “Their politics are dangerous and the very idea that they could have power and influence in parliament after the election will be really concerning to people across the country.
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“We know what Reform would mean for Scotland and the fact that Labour are willing to work with them after the election shows just how desperate they have become.”
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, said that Swinney was being “dishonest … to say he’d have nothing to do with Reform when the SNP are ploughing money behind a Lord Offord advert promoting his lies about Anas Sarwar”.
The SNP have paid for an advert on Facebook which shows Offord speaking during a Channel 4 election debate and alleging that Sarwar had approached him to offer a deal. Scottish Labour have called for it to be taken down.
Baillie added: “John Swinney and the SNP should look themselves in the mirror and consider whether their desperate attempts to join forces with Reform to try and smear Anas Sarwar is morally the right thing to do.”
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