Pictured above: Police officers hold back a protester at Glasgow Green.
Leading lawyer calls Thomas Kerr a ‘snowflake’ and challenges him to suspend Reform politicians who attended ‘Unite the Klans’ rally
by Democrat reporter
Human rights rights lawyer has hit back at the deputy leader of Reform UK in Scotland after Thomas Kerr reported him to the police over a speech he made at the weekend.
He told supporters: “I wonder what would have happened if in response to the knife rampage in Leith, Muslims or members of non-white community had masked up and organised pogroms against the white community; had set fire to white people’s homes with children running for their lives.
“Would there have been sympathy for their cause? Would the mob have been called campaigners with legitimate concerns? Or would we be calling them exactly what they are ‘terrorists’?”
And he blasted the Glasgow MSP after Reform’s 2026 Holyrood manifesto promised: “We will abolish the SNP’s intrusive, ideologically motivated Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, restoring freedom of speech and allowing police to focus on real crime.”
Mr Anwar said: “The total irony is wasted on that ‘poundshop free-speech warrior’ Thomas Kerr, in reality a snowflake, running to the police to use the Hate Crime laws, that his party said they would abolish.
“If Mr Kerr really cared about criminality, he wouldn’t be wasting police time, but assisting them in tracing those masked thugs responsible for inciting and taking part in Saturday’s race hate, Nazi salutes, attacks on police officers and innocent people of colour – surely, he agrees there should be no hiding place for them?
“Any decent person would be calling out the riots in Belfast and knife attacks Leith, yet this great defender of free-speech Mr Kerr’s reaction to my words was to take a 13 second clip out of context and label it as hate speech.
“The real question for Mr Kerr is does he agree with my words that actions of the thugs in Belfast weren’t about legitimate concerns, and what took place was a pogrom, and call it out as terrorism?
“I am glad Thomas Kerr has finally ‘woke’ up claiming he is concerned about hostility towards people because of their ‘political views, nationality, ethnicity, or perceived cultural identity’; Kerr claims to have called out Saturday’s violence, yet several of his Reform members stood next to the thugs, many of whom were masked, whilst racist abuse, threats of violence and Nazi salutes took place; I doubt Reform has handed over a single name or video of these thugs to the Major Investigation Team at Police Scotland.
“So, will he suspend Reform politicians that attended ‘Unite the Klans’ event on Saturday and assist Police Scotland with their inquiries?”
‘Scotland is built on freedom of speech’
After making his report to the police, Mr Kerr said: “Scotland is built on freedom of speech, but that freedom comes with responsibility. Describing people with legitimate concerns about illegal immigration as ‘terrorists’ is reckless and deeply irresponsible. It serves only to poison public debate and further divide communities at a time when calm, respectful discussion is needed more than ever.
“There cannot be one standard for campaigners on one side of an argument and another for those on the other. The public rightly expect consistency, impartiality and equal treatment before the law.”