Scottish Labour leader says claim he tried to do Reform deal is ‘desperate lie’

From left: Labour’s Anas Sarwar, the SNP’s John Swinney and Reform’s Malcolm Offord during the Channel 4 debate on Tuesday. Photograph: Robert Perry/PA

Anas Sarwar has dismissed as “a desperate lie from a desperate man” a claim by Reform UK’s Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord, that he offered to do a deal with the rightwing party to keep the Scottish National party out of power.

Offord made the claim on Channel 4’s Scottish leaders’ debate on Tuesday evening, alleging the Scottish Labour leader came “bouncing up” to him at an event in December last year, suggesting they “work together to remove the SNP”.