“Put them in camps and deport them.”

That is the view on illegal immigrants of Faten Hameed, who has passed the vetting stage and is now hoping to stand for Reform UK in next year’s Scottish parliamentary elections.

Ms Hameed, who moved to Scotland from Iraq 30 years ago, believes the country is now “drained” and says asylum seekers “shouldn’t be here”.

She is one of about 1,000 members of Reform’s branch in Glasgow, with the party attempting to come from nothing to become Holyrood’s second largest.

Reform rarely opens up, with the party often keeping events quiet and relying on encrypted WhatsApp groups to coordinate their efforts.

But we’ve been given exclusive access to a branch meeting inside a small bowling club.

The group’s discussion is raw and unfiltered.

‘Natives first’

Grant Caldwell didn’t mince his words.

“I am sick of the same old politics,” he said.

Asked what he wanted changed, he said: “I am more concerned about the social housing aspect from native people.

“There is a lot of homeless Scots that aren’t getting a bed or a homeless accommodation – to suit the migrants.

“Natives first, I think.

“Obviously, I don’t mind helping people out, but we have to prioritise our own people first.”

Nodding along beside him is Niall.

A former UKIP member, he tells me Reform now feels like home.

We then meet Audrey Dempsey, who quit as a Labour councillor after being accused of making racist remarks.

She now represents Reform in Glasgow.

“If they [migrants] were arriving in the country, and they were fitting in with our culture and values and learning our way of life then that would be more than welcome,” she says.

Asked what she meant, Ms Dempsey says: “Well, instead of trying to inflict their culture on other people here like Sharia law. They are trying to bring that here.”

Questioned on who she believed was introducing Sharia law and where, she said: “The asylum seekers. Some of the asylum seekers. The legal migrants. Absolutely.

“Do you not have conversations in the street? You just have to take a walk through Glasgow city centre on any given day. I think by the line of questioning that you haven’t, if you are so shocked by this.”

Asked for evidence to substantiate her claims, Ms Dempsey said there was “stacks of evidence online”.

And questioned if she believed “they are coming to take over,” the Reform councillor said: “I don’t quite know what I believe at this moment.”

Ms Dempsey said there had been “too many” crimes involving asylum seekers in Glasgow, but was unable to provide any specific details “off the top of my head right now”.

‘It’s a fix’

At another table I am introduced to retiree Gordon Miller, who is now the treasurer of Reform’s Glasgow operation.

He accused the SNP of rigging the system when I told him polls suggested John Swinney’s party could win again and enter their third decade in power.

He said: “There is nothing like a bit of gerrymandering to make sure the constituencies fit your profiles.

“It has been a fix for donkey’s years, and the facts speak for themselves. They keep changing the borders so regularly.”

A review of changes to constituency boundaries has been submitted to Scottish ministers for approval.

Reform plans to stand a candidate in each Scottish constituency next May.

Those hoping to be successful are currently going through a vetting process and “assessment centres” and mock interviews.

One of those wannabe MSPs is Paul Bennie, an army veteran turned ambulance worker who joined Reform UK a year ago.

“Politics is bust,” he says. “We do need Reform. We need to change the way we do politics and change people’s futures for the better.”

‘Put them in camps’

Ms Hameed has been part of three political parties since 2020.

She was once a Labour general election candidate before switching to the Conservatives and recently defected to Reform.

The Scottish Iraqi Association chairwoman has passed the official vetting stages to stand for Reform in May.

She tells us that immigration is one of her top two priorities.

Asked if Reform would deport anyone, she said: “For illegal immigration, yes. Put them in camps and deport them. They shouldn’t be here.”

Questioned on whether she was calling for the establishment of deportation camps in the UK, Ms Hameed said: “Why not? Other countries have done it.”

When pushed on where camps should be set up, she said: “It is for the government to decide”.

“They would be in the UK as the boats are coming to us,” she says. “They are all seeking asylum. Why are they here? Why?”

She denied making policy up as she goes along, saying: “It’s not a matter of what is Reform policy, it is a matter of what is required. The country is drained.”

Reform a ‘serious competitor’ in Scotland

Britain’s leading polling expert, Professor Sir John Curtice, told Sky News there was a “very clear race” between Reform and Labour for second place in Scotland.

He said: “The rise of Reform is a remarkable story. They are a serious competitor for becoming the principal opposition party at Holyrood.”

A Survation poll in May suggested Nigel Farage’s party will beat the other unionist parties in 2026, although by September Labour had edged ahead by two points.

Mr Farage previously told me he would not be standing in the Holyrood election, and the party would have a bespoke leader north of the border.

Thomas Kerr, a Glasgow councillor who defected from the Conservatives to Reform in January, did not deny he would throw his hat in the ring to be the Scottish party chief.

He told us that the potential candidates we met going “off-script” was “problem we are working with”.

But he insisted vetting procedures have been strengthened and “every candidate we will see standing for Reform UK will be top-notch”.

Responding to the claims made in this report, SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney said he was “very concerned”.

“Sharia law is not taking over Scotland, and I find the idea of deportation camps just utterly repugnant,” he said.

“I think what you are sharing with me reinforces my view that the politics of Nigel Farage are repulsive, and Scotland should have nothing to do with it.”

The Reform UK party in London told Sky News it had nothing further to add in response to this report.