SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar has accused First Minister John Swinney of “talking-up” Reform UK Ltd as a “political tool for his party” ahead of the SNP leader’s summit on the far right.

Mr Swinney will host the meeting in Glasgow on Wednesday, having invited the leaders of all parties represented at Holyrood, along with faith leaders, community groups, and the STUC, in a move prompted by polling predicting Reform is on course to win up to 14 seats in next year’s Scottish parliamentary elections.

Ahead of the summit, Mr Swinney argued it would “provide the initial foundation that will ensure Scotland has united leadership on values and principles that can help guide us in this age of uncertainty.”

But Mr Sarwar launched a scathing attack on the First Minister, saying: “Those that helped fan the flames of divisive politics — a failing SNP government — cannot pretend to be the ones to lead the fight against it.

“The uncomfortable truth is that the failure of the SNP to provide the public services people rely on and live up to the hopes people put in them has acted as a recruiting sergeant for the rise of divisive politics.

“Scots don’t need the politics of Nigel Farage — a man who wants to privatise the NHS and make working families pay for their medical treatment.

“John Swinney is talking Reform UK up because it’s a helpful political tool for his party, rather than taking on the issues that are pushing people towards them.

“What we can’t allow to happen is for this summit to look like the Scottish establishment talking to itself.”