The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
‘He wasn’t calling SNP racist’
Politics: Kezia Dugdale says Mayor of London’s comments were ‘very clear’
The London mayor has been “very clear” that he was not accusing the SNP of racism, Kezia Dugdale has insisted following a row over comments made by Sadiq Khan during a visit to Scotland.
Ms Dugdale, the leader of Scottish Labour, said she “utterly refutes” any suggestion that Mr Khan had implied that the Scottish nationalists are racist.
The Labour MSP also stressed during an interview that she “never would suggest that the SNP are an inherently racist party” as she was invited to distance herself from Mr Khan’s controversial remarks.
Mr Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, sparked a strong response when he wrote in a national newspaper on Saturday that there was “no difference” between nationalism and those who try to “divide us on the basis of our background, race or religion”.
He later insisted, in a speech to the Scottish Labour conference in Perth that day, he was “not saying that nationalists are somehow racist or bigoted”.
But as he addressed party activists he maintained: “There’s no difference between those who try to divide us on the basis of whether we’re English or Scottish, and those who try to divide us on the basis of our background, race or religion.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the comments were a “sign of the sheer desperation and moral bankruptcy that has driven so many from Scottish Labour’s ranks”.
In an interview, Ms Dugdale was asked if she wanted to distance herself from Mr Khan’s “absurd claim”.
“I think that Sadiq Khan was very clear yesterday that he wasn’t accusing the SNP of racism,” she said.
“What he was saying very clearly, though, was that nationalism, by it’s very nature, divides people, divides communities.”
An SNP spokesman said: “This was a shambolic and rambling interview by Kezia Dugdale, whose attempts to deny something which was clearly and unequivocally stated were just embarrassing.”