Scots Reform candidate suspended less than 24 hours after being chosen

Stuart Niven, who was announced as the party’s candidate for Dundee City West yesterday, is being investigated by the party over being barred as a company director for seven years.

A spokesperson from Reform UK Scotland said: "We take allegations like this very seriously, and a full investigation is under way."

Mr Niven reportedly had given a disqualification undertaking to the Insolvency Service to end court action following an investigation into his time at Britannia Maritime Security Ltd.

On the disqualification undertaking, Mr Niven stated: "I caused Britannia Maritime Security Ltd (“BMS”) to breach the terms and conditions of the Bounce Back Loan (“BBL”) scheme by failing to use the funds obtained from the BBL scheme for the economic benefit of BMS.”

Nigel Farage’s party announced its candidates for the Holyrood election on Thursday.

It came during the party’s conference in Renfrewshire. Mr Niven appeared onstage with Mr Farage at the event.

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It has already emerged Linda Holt, Reform UK’s candidate in North East Fife, branded former SNP first minister Humza Yousaf an “Islamist moron” and “not British”.

The party’s candidate for Galloway and West Dumfries, Senga Beresford, supported the far right Tommy Robinson. She told the former English Defence League leader that she was “behind you all the way”.

Mr Farage has consistently distanced himself from Robinson.

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Aberdeenshire North and Moray East candidate Jo Hart branded the Royals “benefit scroungers”. Her comments, made during the 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations, included messages such as “f*** the Royals” and “make Lizzy the last.”

Reform UK’s Scotland leader Malcolm Offord said people need to “grow up” and “not take offence to everything” after these Holyrood candidates were condemned for their past comments.

He said: “We have brought in a whole range of candidates - 80 per cent are not politicians, they are real people who have said real things in the past.”

He added: “At the end of the day if you want a bunch of people who have never said anything offensive in their lives, you will never find someone.”

When asked about Ms Holt’s comments about Mr Yousaf, Mr Offord said: “This was before she was a candidate or a member of the party.”

Another candidate who has come under fire is Rachael Wright who is standing in Stirling. She has been linked to a wave of false rumours that the former Kilgraston School in Perthshire would be “turned into migrant accommodation”.

Mr Offord said: “We are realistic - we have interesting people, real people.

“Professional politicians never put a foot wrong because they never say anything interesting or that matters.

“Everyone has said things in the past they regret, it doesn’t mean they are a bad person.”

Mr Offord was also forced to defend comments made at the conference by Reform MP Sarah Pochin. During her speech her autocue failed, and she told the audience she wanted to go on stage wearing a “tartan burqa”.

Mr Offord said her comments were "completely harmless" and people need to “stop taking it all quite so seriously”.

Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar said: “Reform Scotland’s campaign has immediately been exposed as the farce that it is.

“Malcolm Offord’s car-crash launch gave us a manifesto written on the back of a cigarette packet and a set of candidates totally unfit for public office.

“From the dodgy dealings of a Covid scammer to the divisive tweets of obsessive racists, these scandals show Reform are just taking whoever they can get.

“Reform is treating Scots with contempt by asking them to vote for this hopeless gaggle of Tory rejects and odd balls, and I have no doubt Scotland will send them packing.”