A former world boxing champion who was a candidate for Alex Salmond’s new party has stood by comments he made mocking Romanian beggars.
Alex Arthur also said he does not have any political ambitions and claimed independence “probably” would not happen.
Arthur won a gold medal for Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth games and was crowned WBO super featherweight world champion in 2008.
He was unveiled as a candidate in the Lothians for Alba, which Salmond formed after quitting the SNP, but he was slammed over some of his social media comments.
In January last year, he tweeted: “Them Romanian beggars in Edinburgh ain’t hungry!! Just drove past them all ready to switch up begging posts and ALL em fat as big juicy over fed pigs!”
He apologised for any “unintended offence”, but in an interview with John Beattie on BBC Drivetime he appeared to defend himself.
Asked what it was like to be in that middle of the row, he said:
"It made no difference to me at all. I was a professional fighter for 20 plus years. Those kind of verbal attacks and what you would deem abuse meant nothing to me. It was like water off a duck’s back, made no interest, didn’t keep me up at night, didn’t bother me in the slightest”.
On whether he thought he should not have done it, he responded: “No, not at all”.
He said: “I mean the stories were factual stories. You know the things that I said previously on twitter, it was mixed up massively. I’ve got a very good friend whose mother’s purse was robbed by these particular Romanian gangs that hang out in Edinburgh, they are not starving, I can tell you that for sure.
"My reference to their weight was that they were definitely not people who were starving, that’s what I’d pointed out previously and I’m not bothered about it”.
Asked if he thought independence will ever happen, he said: “It’s not looking great is it, right now I’d probably say no, it’s not looking good”.
A Scottish Tory spokesman said: “This confirms voters were right to deliver a knockout blow to Alex Arthur and the brand of politics he signed up to when casting their votes in May.”
Alba polled 1.6% at the Holyrood election in Lothian.
