A LEADING campaigner for the Scottish Tories has been exposed for appearing to support a far-right party in France.
John White, a former Scottish Tory candidate, shared a photo with the president of the anti-immigrant National Rally president, Jordan Bardella, who is in line to be the next prime minister of France.
White has also been a prominent campaigner for the Tories, posing with Conservative candidate David Mundell and former leader Ruth Davidson.
However, the Daily Record now reports there are calls for the Tories to tackle extremists in their ranks after the link between the activist and National Rally was unveiled by the newspaper.
National Rally, which used to be the National Front, could win parliamentary elections in France after the NR and allies won 33% of first round votes at the weekend.
Bardella, 28, has threatened a “cultural battle” against Islamism while NR’s other positions include ending birthright citizenship for people born in France to foreign parents, making it easier to close mosques and barring dual nationals from state jobs.
On June 9, during a trip to France, White posted a selfie with Bardella on the day of the European Parliament elections.
He said on Twitter/X: “As votes have closed in the #EUelections24, it’s great to see a surge of people wanting to put their own nations first and a rise for the right in Europe.
“Maybe countries outwith can learn some lessons! Special congratulations to @J_Bardella.”
He added: “I recently had the chance to be invited to the Nice RN office whilst exploring the city.
“It was great to learn about the make-up of French politics and the fight to reclaim the city.”
The post in question included a photo of White next to a National Rally poster of Bardella and parliamentary party leader Marine le Pen.
On Sunday, the day of the French elections, he reposted his picture with Bardella.
“Change in Europe continues today. Good luck @J_Bardella,” White said.
During the election campaign for the Tories, he appeared to take a dig at the SNP for aiming to win Muslim votes.
He said in one video: “Are the SNP playing dirty politics in this General Election? In last week’s video, I explained how the SNP’s candidate for Glasgow East, David Linden, was standing outside of a mosque in Govanhill in Glasgow with none other than Nicola Sturgeon, handing out leaflets with a big Palestinian flag on them.”
He added: “We’ve also had [SNP candidates] Marion Fellows and Anum Qaisar… handing out leaflets outside of a mosque in Motherwell which also have a big Palestinian flag on them.”
White also previously clashed with Stephen Flynn on Question Time, with the SNP Westminster leader recognising him as a “prominent Conservative activist”.
Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie said having White campaign “raises serious questions about the party’s judgement”.
Green MSP Maggie Chapman (below) was also among those to hit out and said: “National Rally is a far-right extremist outfit, and we should all unite in rejecting it in the strongest terms.
“It is grounded in fascism and has a long history of peddling vile, bigoted and divisive politics.”
White confirmed to the Record he is a member of the Scottish Tories but disputed National Rally is a far-right party.
He said: “I don’t think they are hostile to immigration. I think they want to cut immigration, like any party.
“If you look at the policies of any party in this General Election, you’ll see all of the parties, or most at least, are putting forward policies to cut immigration.”
He also told the newspaper he never said he liked National Rally and added: “I congratulated Jordan Bardella.”
On how he got the selfie, he said: “He was at an event I was at.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Tories meanwhile said: “These are John’s personal views.”
