Nicola Sturgeon slams Sadiq Khan’s speech ‘insulting’ pro-independence Scots

NICOLA STURGEON has slammed London Mayor Sadiq Khan after he likened Scottish nationalism to racism.

The Labour politician sparked fury when he said there was “no difference” between Nationalists and those who try to “divide us on the basis of our background, race or religion”.

Mr Khan was forced to hastily add a line to his speech clarifying that he was not accusing the SNP of being racists or bigots.

But Miss Sturgeon yesterday branded the remarks desperate and “an insult to all those Scots who support independence”.

The controversy overshadowed Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale’s speech to the party’s conference in Perth.

She threw her support behind Mr Khan, dubbing him the “pride of Labour”.

Addressing Labour members, Mr Khan said: “Now’s not the time to fuel division or to seek separation or isolation.

“Now’s not the time to play on people’s fears.

“Or to pit one part of our country – or one section of our society – against each other.

“There’s no difference between those who try to divide us on the basis of whether we’re English or Scottish and those who try to divide us on the basis of our background, race or religion.

“Now of course I’m not saying that nationalists are somehow racist or bigoted, but now, more than ever, what we don’t need is more division and separation.

“Now is the time to build unity.

“The antidote to Brexit and the rise of right-wing populist parties is not to run away, break away or push our neighbours away. It’s to lead in a different direction – the right direction.”

3/3 and it is a sign of the sheer desperation and moral bankruptcy that has driven so many from Scottish Labour's ranks. Very disappointing.

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) February 25, 2017

Miss Sturgeon said the comments were a “sign of the sheer desperation and moral bankruptcy that has driven so many from Scottish Labour’s ranks”.

The First Minister was a “big admirer” of the London Mayor but said the intervention was “spectacularly ill-judged”.

The SNP leader added: “It is an insult to all those Scots who support independence for reasons of inclusion and social justice – the antithesis of what he says.”

Meanwhile, Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson has said now is “not the time” to change the party’s leadership, but it must “do better” at winning over voters.

He admitted the party’s by-election loss in Copeland had been “hugely disappointing”.

But Jeremy Corbyn has made it clear he is determined to continue as leader, despite warnings that the party was on course for a “catastrophic” general election defeat after the Conservatives snatched the Cumbrian seat, which had been held by Labour since 1935.

Mr Watson told delegates he would not “sugar coat” the result.

He added: “Here in Scotland, you’ve seen what happens when Labour’s long-term supporters stop voting Labour.

“We can’t afford to have that happen in England too.

“I’ve said it a lot recently. This is not the time for a leadership election. That issue was settled last year.

“But we have to do better. We cannot sustain this level of distance from the electorate, from our natural supporters.”

Mr Watson also said the idea of a “progressive alliance” with other parties was a “road to nowhere” and a “gift to the right”, citing the 2015 general election campaign.

Elsewhere, David Miliband has said Labour is at its weakest point in half a century.

The former Foreign Secretary, who lost out to his brother Ed in the Labour leadership election in 2010, said he was “deeply concerned” about the party’s future.

Mr Miliband, who now works as the head of the International Rescue Committee in New York, said: “I don’t think this is just a repeat of the 1980s.

“We have to really understand the historic nature of the challenge that we have to face.”