Nicola Sturgeon has called the former deputy leader of Britain First a “racist” after she accused the First Minister of “flooding” the country with immigrants.
Jayda Fransen, who is standing as an independent in Glasgow Southside, the same constituency contested by Ms Sturgeon, confronted the SNP leader on Thursday.
Ms Fransen, who has convictions for religiously aggravated harassment, tells Ms Sturgeon in footage posted online: “What are you sorry for? Mass immigration, Marxism?
“I’m not a fascist. I’ve been on the ground speaking to locals who say you are an absolute disgrace …”
Ms Sturgeon said: “We’ll see what the locals’ view is later on.”
Jayda and Dowson lowering the tone some more pic.twitter.com/DMq30X50kV
— Matthew Collins (@MattHopeNotHate) May 6, 2021
Ms Fransen said: “The locals, what the ones you have flooded from other countries?
“The decent people of Scotland don’t want it flooded with immigrants.”
Ms Sturgeon tells her: “You are a fascist, you are a racist and the southside of Glasgow will reject you.”
Scotland’s First Minister then walks away with party members as Ms Fransen pursues her, talking about “mass immigration” and “Marxism”.
Multi-cultural
Ms Sturgeon later wrote on her own Twitter account online: “Glasgow Southside is the most diverse and multi-cultural constituency in Scotland – one of the many things that makes it so brilliant. I am confident it will unite today to utterly reject these fascists.”
Ms Fransen has previously been pictured outside the constituency office of Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf holding a sign saying “it’s okay to be white” and has said she is running against the “SNP commie, Marxists, naughty people”.
She has previously been convicted of a number of religiously aggravated crimes, including harassment in both 2016 and 2018 – the latter of which saw her sentenced to 36 weeks in prison.
Although a member of the British Freedom Party, documents from Glasgow City Council show Ms Fransen is running as an independent.