Who is Malcolm Offord, Reform UK’s leader in Scotland?

Nigel Farage has appointed former Tory UK government minister Malcolm Offord as his party’s Scottish leader.

The former Lord Offord, Baron Offord of Garvel, is a Scottish politician who has been a member of the House of Lords since 2021.

He previously served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland and parliamentary under-secretary of state for exports as a member of the Scottish Conservatives.

Nigel Farage announced the then Lord Offord’s defection to Reform UK in December during a visit to Falkirk, making him the party’s first peer.

He was the Scottish Tory treasurer at the time of his defection and said then that he would give up his peerage and stand for election to Holyrood in May.

Mr Farage said he was “delighted” to welcome Mr Offord to Reform, describing his defection as “a brave and historic act”.

He added: “He will take Reform UK Scotland to a new level.”

During a speech, the then Lord confirmed he would stand at the Scottish Parliament election in May, meaning he would resign from the House of Lords in order to campaign.

The Greenock-born businessman was made a life peer in 2021 by then prime minister Boris Johnson and served as a minister of exports from 2023 until the general election in July 2024. He had previously donated nearly £150,000 to the party.

At the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election, he stood as a Tory list candidate for the Lothian region but placed fifth on the list and failed to gain a seat.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland at the beginning of January, he said it is between Reform and Scottish First Minister John Swinney’s SNP in May.

Asked whether it was his ambition to be Scotland’s first minister, he said: “Yes, I mean, you’ve got to be in it to win it.”