Sarwar wants the Aberdeen Nine back in party

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says he wants the suspended councillors known as the Aberdeen Nine to be readmitted to the party.

Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland, Mr Sarwar was quizzed on their suspension after forming an administration with the Conservatives in 2017.

He said: “I want them to be back in.

“I believe they are Labour councillors who are working on the front line delivering Labour policies in Aberdeen, a Labour manifesto in Aberdeen, making progress in Aberdeen and actually won the UK council of the year. We should be proud of that fact.”

The Glasgow MSP added he “opposes both the UK and Scottish Tories” and that they are “wrong in so many areas”.

He added: “But can you work with different individual political parties on individual issues? I worked with the SNP, for example, around the Period Products Bill, or my party did, and on rights of retail workers.

“I worked with the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives to scrap the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, which was doing so much damage to our communities.

“We worked with the Greens around reversing the exams fiasco of last year.”

The group has been banned from standing as Labour councillors until 2022.

Kevin Stewart, SNP candidate for Aberdeen Central in next month’s election, described the alliance between the suspended Labour group and the Tories as a “national disgrace”.

He said: “When push comes to shove Anas Sarwar can’t even rule out a unionist pact on a local council, never mind at a national level.”