A SCOTTISH MP is said to have accused Reform of “inciting violence” after riots erupted in the wake of the alleged attempted murder of a man in Belfast by a Sudanese asylum seeker.
Inverness MP Angus MacDonald “accosted” Sarah Pochin on Wednesday morning and confronted her about racist riots which gripped Northern Ireland the night before, the Reform MP claimed.
In a post on Twitter/X, the Runcorn MP said: “This morning in Parliament, I was accosted by LibDem MP Angus MacDonald, who accused me and others of inciting violence. His aggressive approach and tone left me feeling threatened and shaken.
“This kind of behaviour is unacceptable, especially from fellow MPs. We all have different views and should be able to disagree respectfully.”
MacDonald denied her version of events, telling The Spectator: "I completely reject this characterisation. I had a brief conversation with a fellow parliamentarian regarding the impact of her party’s rhetoric on our communities.
"It is acceptable to challenge colleagues in a fair and respectable way when their actions and words risk causing real-world harm, as we have seen in recent weeks with Reform’s stirring up of hatred and division.”
As riots were underway in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, Reform's London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham tweeted: "They let them in. Then call you racist for complaining.
"They will now debate our right to express anger and pontificate about the legitimacy of the public’s reaction. And the House [of Commons] will be 'united' in condemnation, not of the failure. Of us."
Reform UK have been accused of contributing to heightened tensions which culminated this week with a “pogrom” in Belfast against immigrants.
The party capitalised on the murder of white teenager Henry Nowak at the hands of Vickrum Singh Digwa in Southampton to accuse the UK Government of presiding over a “two-tier” justice system.
Nigel Farage held what he styled as an “emergency address”, in which he said that “white lives matter just as much as black lives” and called on the public to respond to Nowak’s murder with “pure, cold rage”.
In the Commons on Wednesday, the Prime Minister accused Reform of seeking to “whip up fear and division” in the wake of this week’s alleged attempted murder of a man in Belfast.
In response to calls for his resignation from Reform deputy leader Richard Tice, Starmer said: “Last week we had the terrible case of Henry Nowak which they sought to exploit, now we have a very difficult situation in Northern Ireland where families and communities are extremely frightened.
“What do they do? They try to whip up fear and division because that’s all they’ve got.”
Hadi Alodid, a Sudanese national granted refugee status in 2023 after arriving in the UK through Ireland, appeared via video link at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning.
Steven Ogilvy remains in hospital with knife wounds and has lost the use of his left eye.
His family have released a statement urging calm and saying: “We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”
MacDonald was approached for comment.
