SNP candidate attacks opponent's Hamas "support"

The Scottish Nationalist Party's candidate for the key seat of Glasgow Central in the General Election, Osama Saeed, has attacked his Labour opponent, Anas Sarwar, for his family's alleged connections with Hamas.

Mr Saeed, who founded the Scottish Islamic Foundation, says he has stepped down from his role at SIF in order to concentrate on the election. But he emphasised that his aim as an SNP member and candidate " as it was with SIF, is to promote good relations and community cohesion between all of Scotland’s faiths — something I have pursued most recently through my role in Scotland United which has brought together people of all faiths and parties to oppose peacefully the marches of the English or Scottish Defence Leagues".

Mr Saeed said he found "attacks on synagogues and cemeteries as on mosques or other religious buildings deeply disturbing. It was on my initiative at SIF that we proactively condemned an attack on an Edinburgh synagogue to the point of offering to defend it if need be.

"This was early last year, at what seems the same time as the Glenduffhill incident – we’d have responded the same way had the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities(Scojec)released the pictures then. I would be happy to discuss with ScoJec how we can tackle this serious problem together".