Offord denies homophobia after apologising for joke

Reform UK's leader in Scotland has denied being homophobic after apologising for a joke he made about George Michael during a Burn's Night speech.

Malcolm Offord made the remark at the London Scottish rugby club in 2018, while he was serving as chairman.

A man who witnessed the speech told the Daily Record it was "crude, bad taste and insulting".

Offord said he "instantly regretted" the remarks and made a donation to an LGBT organisation.

He confirmed in a statement that he had made an "inappropriate joke".

"I instantly regretted it and recognised that it was totally inappropriate and took responsibility for what I had said," the Reform leader said.

He added: "This was a clumsy mistake that I immediately acknowledged and acted upon. I am not homophobic.

"I am someone who accepts accountability, owns my actions, and makes amends where needed. That is who I am."

Offord is said to have made an extended joke about Fadi Fawaz, George Michael's partner when the singer died in 2016.

Ian Lewer, who was at the speech with his wife, told the Record: "At the time I thought it pretty awful and indeed that was the feeling in the room."

He added: "I don't know who in their right mind would say something like that.

"It is utterly bizarre that anyone would get up and make a speech in a room with 200 people and say something like that.

"It was so shocking I've not forgotten it."

Offord was inducted into the rugby club's hall of fame in May 2023.

Posting on social media, Scottish Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said Offord was "not fit for public office".

Scottish Labour's Paul O'Kane said: "This just exposes Reform as the nasty party that they are."

He called on Offord to "make a full, public apology" or stand down as Reform's leader in Scotland.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Jamie Greene said: "As a gay politician, I've been on the receiving end of some fairly unpleasant commentary over the years.

"You almost come to expect it from anonymous trolls on social media. You don't, however, hear it from the mouths of political party leaders."

He added: "Sadly, nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the bile emanating from the mouth of Reform; one wonders how much lower they might sink."

It comes after Offord defended controversial comments made by several of the party's candidates for May's Holyrood election.

One indicated support for far-right activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson, another spread rumours about asylum seekers and a third called former First Minister Humza Yousaf a "grandstanding Islamist moron".

Offord said: "We have all made comments in the past but the problem with this modern world is everything is written down and remembered.

"We need to be more realistic about the fact real people say real things."