Last week, leader of UKIP Nigel Farage told Channel 4 that he believes we should scrap legislation which protects people from racial discrimination in the workplace.

Scotland and the UK are not immune to racism, it was Labour MP Sadiq Khan who pointed out that it was not so long ago signs could be seen in shop entrances reading “no Blacks, no Irish, no dogs”.

While I do not for a second believe that a sign like this would ever be tolerated anywhere in this country these days, to discard legislation which is pivotal in upholding the importance of equality would not only be a step backwards – it would be a leap back into the dark ages.

 UKIP has shown time and time again that it is a party obsessed with race.

Despite their attempts to rebrand their image, we always end up hearing more intolerant bile like former UKIP candidate William Henwood’s advice to Lenny Henry that he should “go and live in a black country”, and former MEP Godfrey Bloom’s reference to countries receiving aid from the UK collectively as “Bongo Bongo land”.

I was tremendously disappointed when, despite their relatively low support here, David Coburn was elected as MEP for Scotland last May.

Just last week he was exposed for making an Islamophobic comment, directed at me, during an interview with Daily Mail’s political editor.

As UKIP’s only elected member in Scotland he has insulted the entire Muslim community with this remark. He has proven himself unworthy of his position and should resign immediately.  

In my mind there is no doubt UKIP is a racist party, others can reach their own conclusions. However there’s an old saying that if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck – it’s probably a duck.

In recent years some more mainstream UK parties have begun to pander to the UKIP policy agenda.

This is dangerous, and I am proud to belong to the SNP, a party which celebrates the diversity of Scotland’s communities and wishes to protect all those who live in Scotland from discrimination.

Talking of being proud of diversity, this week is Islam Awareness Week and this year’s theme is “Give a Little of Yourself”, calling on all Muslims to spend the week giving back to their communities.

At a time when groups like IS continue to pervert the name of Islam, IAW is an important event which reminds us that the overwhelming majority of Muslims have of course made and continue to make a positive contribution to our communities.

Here in Glasgow there's loads of great IAW events planned, including soup kitchens, food banks and open days in Mosques across the city.

People of all faiths and none are welcome so get involved if you can! For details check out their facebook at www.facebook.com/iawscotland.