THE SNP have rejected Reform UK claims that they helped organise protests against Nigel Farage during his visit to Scotland.
The Reform UK leader visited Aberdeen and Larkhall on Monday – but was forced to cancel a media appearance in Hamilton after protesters turned out to greet him.
In Aberdeen, Farage falsely alleged that Scottish journalists had tipped off protesters about the location of the Reform UK event.
As he spoke to the press, chants from outside – such as “Farage, Farage we know you, you’re a racist through and through” – were consistently audible.
The Reform UK leader wrongly accused The Herald of leaking the location to protesters, responding to denials by accusing the media as a whole. “It wasn’t put out on the public wires, we didn’t put it out to our membership, and yet they knew. So it came from one of you,” he said.
In Hamilton, Reform UK then refused to give journalists the location of the campaign event where Farage was due to be, suggesting that it was because the media could not be trusted not to leak it to campaigners.
After media eventually gathered in a hotel car park, and activists saw them and joined, Farage ducked the Hamilton event altogether.
On Tuesday, Politico reported that Farage’s allies insisted he wasn’t “dodging anything” other than a “large-scale protest” which they claimed had been organised by the SNP.
The National has been told, however, that the SNP had no involvement in planning any protests against Farage.
Protesters and people in Hamilton town centre began to shout back and forth while Farage headed to Glasgow airport pic.twitter.com/UFB8u9v7JJ
— Laura Pollock (@laura_pollock_) June 2, 2025
Stand Up To Racism and the Scottish Socialist Party had arranged the demonstrations and flags from both organisations were visible at the Hamilton protest.
On Farage’s Scotland visit, an SNP source said: "Nigel Farage doesn't care about Scotland. He comes here for a day trip, admits he wants to cut Scotland's budget, dodges media scrutiny and can't even be bothered to campaign. It has been a complete disaster.
"The SNP campaign has taken our message of delivery and hope to the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, where the media have always been allowed access to scrutinise politicians. That is democracy.
"Unlike the other parties, the SNP is confident in our record – which is why we are the only party who can beat Farage on Thursday."
Scottish LibDem MP and former journalist Christine Jardine also hit out at the Reform UK leader, saying: "Nigel Farage delivers more bull than a farm full of Aberdeen Angus.
"This attack on the media represents a descent into properly Trumpian behaviour from the Reform leader.
"Before you know it, he'll be banging on about building a wall and chanting ‘lock her up’ to cover for his complete lack of actual solutions.”
On Tuesday, Farage doubled-down on his attacks on the Scottish media and The Herald in particular, falsely claiming the paper had colluded with protesters with the “deliberate intention of trying to provoke violence”.
Catherine Salmond, the editor of The Herald, also compared Farage’s attacks on her newspaper to the behaviour US president Donald Trump.
“The responsibility of a trusted news brand is to act with integrity. The idea that The Herald was involved with protests in Aberdeen against Nigel Farage and Reform UK is ridiculous,” she said.
"Our job is to report on the truth and to hold those who do not tell the truth to account.
“Attacking the media has become commonplace under Donald Trump in the US and today we have seen it here in Scotland, by Reform UK, against The Herald. A low tactic and one we should all stand against.”
