Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has spoken publicly for the first time about being randomly stopped and searched by police during a night out with pals.
Sarwar was frisked as a student in Glasgow and later stopped by an officer when he was an MP.
He told the Record: “It came with the territory of being an ethnic minority.”
He pointed out that he and SNP Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf had both been subjected to the police tactic.
Sarwar said: “We have two ethnic minority politicians in the Scottish Parliament. Is it a coincidence that we have both been stopped and searched at some point in our lives?”
He revealed his experiences in the week former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering African-American George Floyd.
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities across the UK have criticised police stop and search policies.
Police Scotland has overhauled its policy in recent years but memories of how it worked in practice are raw.
Sarwar, 38, said: “I remember raising an issue about stop and search, and getting a rather aggressive – and I’m being polite there – response from the [Scottish] Police Federation.”
He recalled an incident when he was a student at Glasgow University in which he was enjoying a night out with BAME friends in the city when they were stopped and searched by police.
He said a second incident occurred when he got pulled over by police when driving in Glasgow while he was an MP for the city.
It is claimed the officer wanted to search him and his vehicle, but desisted after recognising Sarwar’s name on his driving licence. No search took place.
His comments come after Yousaf revealed he had been stopped and searched more than a dozen times.
Asked if he believed it was extraordinary that two prominent BAME politicians at Holyrood had been stopped and searched, Sarwar said: “Yes. I think the fact that it has happened probably tells you everything you need to know.
“But I would like to think we are hopefully making progress. The only way we make progress is if we rebuild that relationship and trust. And that’s where I see policing as a partnership.”
As an MSP, Sarwar launched an inquiry into Islamophobia and said some of the findings were “stark”. He added: “People felt a disconnect with the police. I think there is an important job to be done to rebuild trust.”
On George Floyd, he said: “It shouldn’t have taken his murder for people to pay attention to Black Lives Matter. We still have a long way to go to challenge prejudice and hate in all its forms.”
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: “Intelligence-led stop and search is a valuable and effective policing tactic in detecting and preventing crime when it is used lawfully, proportionately and in line with the Code of Practice which was introduced in 2017.
“Victims of crime and people right across the country expect us to use all powers at our disposal to keep them safe.
“Stop and search is just one of those powers and one in every three searches leads to the recovery of illicit or harmful items.
“We recognise that stopping and searching is a significant intrusion into personal liberty and privacy and remain committed to ensuring people are treated with fairness, integrity and respect.”
