Reform UK’s Scottish deputy leader has backed Nigel Farage’s claims of “two-tier policing”, with the MSP insisting young white working-class men are “treated very differently” by officers.
Thomas Kerr said there is a need to have an “honest and open debate” about the situation, saying it is “not the police’s fault” but it has instead arisen “because of the justice system”.
He said that in working-class parts of the country, “policing feels very different to other areas”.
I do think if you go to working-class communities, policing feels very different to other areas
The Glasgow MSP was questioned about the murder of university student Henry Nowak, who was fatally stabbed on a night out in Southampton.
As the teenager lay dying, his killer Vickrum Digwa falsely claimed to police he had been the victim of a racist attack – with footage from the scene showing Mr Nowak put in handcuffs as he repeatedly told officers he had been stabbed.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has already said there are “difficult questions that need to be answered about the way the police handled Henry’s murder” – but Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has citied it as an example of “two-tier policing”.
Mr Farage said “clear” instructions given to officers set out that they “must treat different ethnic groups in different ways”.
Asked about this in an interview with Holyrood magazine, Mr Kerr said: “I think if you are a white, working-class young man, you are treated very differently by police.
“It’s not the police’s fault; it’s because of the justice system. I do think that exists right through the whole country, and I think we have to have an honest and open debate about that.”
Mr Kerr added that in the past people “particularly from ethnic minorities” had been “penalised and attacked”.
But he insisted: “I think we have gone too far one way, and I think we’ll start to see that over the next few years that it has been the case that we do not treat people fairly.”
Mr Kerr, who was voted into Holyrood in last month’s election, continued: “I don’t care about the colour of someone’s skin. If you break the law, you should be treated with the full force of the law, and I do think if you go to working-class communities, policing feels very different to other areas.”
Responding to Mr Kerr’s comments, a Police Scotland spokesperson said simply: “We police without fear or favour.”
The MSP meanwhile also insisted his principles “haven’t changed”, although he has switched between political parties, moving from Labour to the Conservatives and then to Reform – who he joined in January 2025 after being Tory group leader on Glasgow City Council.
Mr Kerr said it “gets under my skin slightly” when he is described as a “grifter” as a result of this.
He said: “I went from the Labour Party to the Tories to Reform. My argument is that I didn’t politically change my beliefs – those political parties shifted so dramatically, and I moved along with the electorate.
“It’s probably fair to say I’ve shifted politically in terms of my party, but my beliefs and principles haven’t changed.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Police Scotland applies the law equally, without fear or favour.
“Claims of two-tier policing have no evidence base and do not reflect the principles, standards or oversight arrangements that govern policing.”