REFORM MSP Thomas Kerr has suggested that he “got away with” hate crimes.
The moment came as Kerr, the deputy leader of Reform UK in Scotland, spoke to press at Holyrood after First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.
In the chamber, First Minister John Swinney had accused Kerr, his leader Malcolm Offord, and other Reform MSPs of “inciting racial hatred”.
Responding to rioting on the streets of Glasgow where apparently Loyalist mobs attacked people based on the colour of their skin, Swinney said: “At the same time as I was condemning it, Thomas Kerr, sitting beside Mr Offord, was saying to people that it was important that people went out and protested last night [Wednesday] … And what happened last night?
“Well, in Greenock, a town very close to Mr Offord's heart, I know that, police officers were attacked . Two officers sustained minor injuries and damage was caused to police vehicles, as the police were simply doing their duty of protecting the citizens of our country.
“Mr Offord should condemn his colleague Thomas Kerr right now.”
Speaking to press afterwards, Kerr was asked if he thought he had committed a hate crime when he urged people to "go out and protest" despite the racist riots the previous day.
The Reform MSP said: "I don’t think [that]. Absolutely not.
“I’ve been reported loads of times for a hate crime and I’ve got away with it."
Reform MSP Thomas Kerr has been defending his comments on the violent Glasgow protests in the wake of the Belfast attack on Stephen Ogilvie. Also defends language such as “strangers” and “fighting age” in reference to refugees. Says Grant Calder is in process of being suspended pic.twitter.com/glIBmw0W45
— @GinaDavidson (@ginadavidsonlbc) June 11, 2026
In 2025, while a councillor in Glasgow but before being elected an MSP, Kerr was reported to the police over a possible hate crime in a video where he suggested foreign nationals should be deported if found to be stalking women.
Eight days later, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The information received has been assessed and no further police action requires to be taken.”
Under Scots law, “stirring up racial hatred” is an offence where a person uses threatening, abusive or insulting words in circumstances where they intend, or it is likely, to stir up hatred against a group defined by race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origins.
Asked for clarity on Kerr’s comments about having “got away with it”, a Reform UK spokesperson said: "Thomas Kerr was elected to rattle the cages of the establishment and given this comic books [sic] obsession with him, he appears to be doing exactly what Glasgow wants him to do.
"As for the press conference, it's a shame the National choose [sic] to stay at home that day or perhaps they could have asked these questions in person rather than jump on the back of others [sic] work.
"Reform will continue to fight for Scotland's forgotten working-class while ignoring fake news from Scotland's national embarrassment."
