A new pro-Palestine Scottish National Party MP has been accused of faking her Scottish accent.
Reform UK’s leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, shared a clip of Lara Bird – elected last week following a by-election in the Scottish east coast constituency of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry – which he claimed showed she was pretending to be Scottish.
The clip, posted by the Britain Palestine Project charity, featured Bird speaking about the Israel-Palestine conflict in what appeared to be an English accent.
Some social media users claimed that Bird’s accent sounded more Scottish during her swearing-in ceremony, and circulated a clip of her speaking at the event.
The Britain Palestine Project - formerly the Balfour Project, where Bird served as an executive committee member - demands “redress for the historic injustices done to the Palestinian people during the period of British imperial rule and subsequently, after Britain abandoned Palestine in 1948. At the same time, we endorse Britain’s recognition of the State of Israel in 1950.”
Prior to her election, she held a parliamentary pass for SNP MP Brendan O’Hara. The name on the pass was her full name of Pyla Bird-Leakey, which Offord pointed out.
Forget Makerfield, the real drama’s in Arbroath, where the SNP candidate is putting on a fake Scottish accent!
— Malcolm Offord MSP (@Malcolm_Offord) June 12, 2026
The choice is Gaza activist lawyer Pyla Bird-Leakey, now going by Lara Bird.
Or Reform’s Bill Reid - farmer, soldier, entrepreneur. https://t.co/q2ILLqXSy8
“Forget Makerfield, the real drama’s in Arbroath, where the SNP candidate is putting on a fake Scottish accent! The choice is Gaza activist lawyer Pyla Bird-Leakey, now going by Lara Bird. Or Reform’s Bill Reid - farmer, soldier, entrepreneur”, he said at the time.
During Bird’s swearing in as an MP on Monday, during which she appeared to cross her fingers while swearing allegiance to the, she told the Commons: “I take this oath only so that I can serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. My first allegiance is, and always will be, the sovereign people of Scotland.”
However, the SNP hit back at the criticism of their new MP.
A party spokesperson told the JC: "Lara Bird MP is half-Scottish, half-English. She grew up in Scotland and has also lived in England. Unlike Nigel Farage's Reform Party, the SNP doesn't judge people on their accents or where they come from.
"Nor do the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, who elected Lara Bird MP with a majority of 5,278 votes, while the Reform Party trailed behind in a distant third place.
"While Malcolm Offord spends his time poking fun at women's accents, Lara Bird MP is getting on with the job she was elected to do - demanding more help for families with the cost of living, more investment in our local communities and respect for Scotland's democratic right to choose our own future with independence."
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