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Sarwar denies 'playing race card' after election defeat Scottish Labour councillor denies Anas Sarwar racism claim
(35 minutes later)
A Labour MSP has denied "playing the race card" by speaking about comments he endured during the party's recent leadership contest. A Scottish Labour councillor has "categorically denied" making racist remarks to the party's former leadership candidate Anas Sarwar.
Anas Sarwar, the defeated candidate in last year's Scottish Labour leadership election, also his decision had taken its toll on his family. Davie McLachlan had been leader of the Labour group on South Lanarkshire Council.
And he admitted it was the "most difficult" thing he had done. But he was suspended by the party on Tuesday after Mr Sarwar said a councillor had told him "Scotland wouldn't vote for a brown Muslim Paki".
Mr Sarwar recently claimed a councillor had told him he could not support him because he was a brown Muslim Paki. In a statement, Mr McLachlan said he was "stunned" by the claims.
Following the allegations, Scottish Labour suspended Davie McLachlan, leader of the party's group on South Lanarkshire Council, pending an investigation. Mr McLachlan said: "I categorically deny these deeply hurtful allegations.
Mr Sarwar, Labour's health spokesman, told BBC Radio Scotland's Call Kaye programme he wanted to spark a wider debate about racism and Islamophobia. "I'm stunned and dismayed at the claims that I would say such things, and I will defend myself robustly in the party's investigation and in any actions that follow.
His comments came a day after he launched a cross-party group to tackle the problem. "Early in the campaign I pledged my support to Anas but later decided to support Mr Leonard. Anas will know this and would understandably be disappointed."
'Bottle attack' Mr Sarwar said he had not spoken about the comments during last autumn's Scottish leadership contest as he did not want to be accused of "playing the so-called race card".
Mr Sarwar told the programme elected politicians "should be held to a higher standard" than the public on such issues. The Glasgow MSP lost the leadership contest to left-winger Richard Leonard.
Speaking about his own experiences, he said: "In 1997 I was assaulted because of the colour of my skin, in the early 2000s when I was out with my friends on a Saturday night in Glasgow glass bottles were thrown at me because of the colour of our skin. He did not initially name the councillor when he described the alleged incident for the first time on Tuesday.
But he met party bosses later in the day and provided them with details in writing, as well as disclosing the identity of the councillor.
Going public with the claims was the "most difficult" thing he had done, the MSP added, but he stressed it was also the "right thing to do".
'Higher standard'
Mr Sarwar has just launched a cross-party group on tackling racism and Islamophobia at the Scottish Parliament.
He insisted that elected politicians "should be held to a higher standard" than the public on such issues.
Speaking about his own experiences on BBC Scotland's Kaye Adams Programme, he said: "In 1997 I was assaulted because of the colour of my skin.
"In the early 2000s when I was out with my friends on a Saturday night in Glasgow glass bottles were thrown at me because of the colour of our skin.
"That is happening less and that is to be welcomed, we have seen a difference in terms of tolerance and understanding in our communities."That is happening less and that is to be welcomed, we have seen a difference in terms of tolerance and understanding in our communities.
"What my fear is is it now becoming a much more insidious and much more institutionalised form of everyday racism and Islamophobia, and that's what needs to be challenged.""What my fear is is it now becoming a much more insidious and much more institutionalised form of everyday racism and Islamophobia, and that's what needs to be challenged."
While he did not speak about the issue during the leadership contest, Mr Sarwar said that when setting up the cross-party group at Holyrood "I felt it was right to put my own head above the parapet and talk about my own personal experiences, in the hope we can spark a wider debate".
The former Scottish Labour deputy leader said the "most difficult thing I've ever done is to talk about race and faith", adding there had also been an impact on his family.
Son upset
During the leadership election, a party member told him she could not support his bid after seeing a picture of his wife Furheen wearing a hijab.
He added: "My children are of an age now where they see the newspaper, they talk about the news in their school, for their dad to be in the news for what is essentially a negative story and a hurtful one, that poses hardship for me."
The MSP recalled when his eldest son Adam had come home upset after joining a new football club.
Mr Sarwar said: "He didn't know what it was, when I asked him he refused to say, but when I pressed him he said he didn't want to go back to that football club because he was upset because there was two kids in the team who didn't want to pass to him because of the colour of his skin.
"We've got an issue with everyday racism which isn't criminality, most of it can't reported to the police, but impacts upon playgrounds, on college and university campuses, it impacts upon workplaces, and I think as a society in Scotland we should be brave enough to speak about it."