JOHN Swinney has slammed Nigel Farage's comments on the link between autism and paracetamol as "completely reckless".
Speaking to LBC News earlier on Wednesday, the Reform UK leader refused to say whether US president Donald Trump was irresponsible for claiming paracetamol could cause autism in babies.
Farage said he had "no idea" whether the US president was right and appeared to connect the use of paracetamol during pregnancy to that of thalidomide, a drug which was used to treat morning sickness and was found to cause birth defects.
The Reform UK leader added that "when it comes to science, I don't side with anybody" because "science is never settled".
The First Minister has now condemned the remarks from Farage and Trump, which he said "have no foundation in clinical or scientific evidence".
Swinney made the comments while speaking to journalists after announcing an expansion of the integrated poverty support programme in Scotland , at a speech at the SEC in Glasgow.
He said: "This is just recklessness, and when I look at the progress that's been made on vaccination programmes over my lifetime, where conditions that were prevalent have been essentially extinguished – polio to a large extent has been extinguished as a consequence of vaccination programmes, huge health achievements made as a consequence.
"I think we've got to follow careful, considered, scientific and clinical evidence, and that's what the Scottish Government does at all times.
"The comments that Nigel Farage makes, to me, are completely reckless."
Meanwhile, in a post on Twitter/X later on Wednesday which quoted Nigel Farage's comments, Swinney wrote: "This is dangerous, reckless, anti-science nonsense.
"Paracetamol is safe to use and Nigel Farage should stop spreading misinformation."
This is dangerous, reckless, anti-science nonsense. Paracetamol is safe to use and Nigel Farage should stop spreading misinformation. https://t.co/bWuHmuT1Sq
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) September 24, 2025
Scottish Government Health Secretary Neil Gray also condemned Trump's de-bunked claim that Tylenol – which is called paracetamol in the UK – could be behind a "meteoric rise" in cases of autism.
Gray said there is "no evidence to say that paracetamol is anything other than safe", adding that Trump's comments undoubtedly "will have added" to the stress and anxiety of pregnant mothers.
During the First Minister's speech on Wednesday, which was attended by some 500 representatives from the public and third sectors, Swinney said while Scotland is "making progress" in tackling child poverty, there is still "more to do".
Child poverty levels in Scotland are now “lower than they were 30 years ago”, he said, adding they are falling at the same time as the problem is increasing in the rest of the UK.
The First Minister said: “There’s a whole amount of information that demonstrates quite clearly that we are making progress in the journey to eradicate child poverty."
However he acknowledged the number of children in poverty is “not falling enough”, and he declared: “There is more that we have to do.”
He stressed the importance of providing a range of services to support families in poverty in different areas, saying this “whole family support” is the “pathway to eradicate child poverty”.
While he said there are “countless” examples of such work in Scotland, he insisted whole family support is “not nearly systemic enough in our country”.
To address the issue, he announced Fairer Futures Partnerships (FFP) schemes will be expanded, backed by £4 million in investment.
The eight existing FFPs, which bring together a range of services such as childcare, education, health and social care along with help with housing, are to be rolled out into five new areas – Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, and West Lothian.
In addition, the Scottish Government is making up to £1.12m of Adopt and Adapt funding available to local authorities not currently engaged in FFPs.
