The Scottish First Minister said he understood why many people in the country were “disaffected” after having “gone through a really hard time over a number of years”.
He said “challenges” facing the country’s democratic systems were coming from a “range of pressures that seek to undermine some of the central values of our society”.
The Scottish First Minister defended his decision not to invite Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to his summit (Jacob King/PA)
The SNP leader said there were “parts of the argument and the rhetoric of Reform that contribute to that”.
His comments come ahead of a summit on Wednesday, called by Mr Swinney, aimed at tackling the rise of the far-right, which he said included Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The SNP leader defended not inviting Reform to the event, which he said had been sent out to all of Holyrood’s parliamentary parties.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has said he would not go, labelling it a “talking shop”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Show, Mr Swinney said Reform’s “attitude and approach” to immigration was causing him “enormous concern”.
He told the programme: “I’m reaching out to people in Scotland to say that they shouldn’t be tempted by the simple solutions that are offered by the ideologies that are represented by Reform and others.
“What I am saying is that there is a way for us to strengthen the economic opportunity, th...
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