I've lost friends since joining Reform, says Lord Offord

The leader of Reform UK in Scotland says he has lost friends over his decision to defect to Nigel Farage's party.

Malcolm Offord was a Conservative peer before joining Reform in December.

He was appointed the party's leader north of the border by Farage in January.

Asked whether the defection had cost him friendships, Offord said: "Yes, I've lost them."

"I've got a couple of people who have said to me: we just can't support what the party stands for," Lord Offord told the BBC's Scotcast podcast.

"I feel that that is a sacrifice that I have to make if I believe in the cause of what I'm trying to do."

In a wide-ranging interview, Lord Offord also said some of the language used by Nigel Farage on immigration had made him feel uncomfortable – but that his own position on the issue had also hardened since joining Reform.

"I was uncomfortable… I was a bit squeamish about that," he said.

"But I do agree with the sentiment that we've got an issue [and] that immigration is an issue in some of our communities, especially our working class communities."

Scotcast's full interview with Malcolm Offord will be available as a podcast on BBC Sounds and other podcast platforms from 17:00 on Thursday. It will also be published on BBC iPlayer from 19:00.

Interviews with Gillian Mackay of the Scottish Greens, the SNP's John Swinney, Alex Cole-Hamilton of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar and Russell Findlay of the Scottish Conservatives will also be published in March.