The London mayor has been "very clear" that he was not accusing the SNP of racism, Kezia Dugdale has insisted following a row over comments made by Sadiq Khan during a visit to Scotland.
Ms Dugdale, the leader of Scottish Labour, said she "utterly refutes" any suggestion that Mr Khan had implied that the Scottish nationalists are racist.
The Labour MSP also stressed during an interview that she "never would suggest that the SNP are an inherently racist party" as she was invited to distance herself from Mr Khan's controversial remarks.
Mr Khan, the Labour mayor of London, sparked a strong response when he wrote in the Daily Record newspaper on Saturday that there was "no difference" between nationalism and those who try to "divide us on the basis of our background, race or religion''.
READ MORE: Khan racism row overshadows Scottish Labour conference
He later insisted, in a speech to the Scottish Labour conference in Perth that day, that he was "not saying that nationalists are somehow racist or bigoted''.
But as he addressed party activists he maintained: "There's no difference between those who try to divide us on the basis of whether we're English or Scottish, and those who try to divide us on the basis of our background, race or religion."
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the comments were a "sign of the sheer desperation and moral bankruptcy that has driven so many from Scottish Labour's ranks".
In an interview on BBC One's Sunday Politics programme, Ms Dugdale was asked if she wanted to distance herself from Mr Khan's "absurd claim" made in the newspaper.
"I think that Sadiq Khan was very clear yesterday that he wasn't accusing the SNP of racism," Ms Dugdale said.
"What he was saying very clearly, though, was that nationalism, by it's very nature, divides people, divides communities.
"That's what I said in my speech yesterday. I said that (we're) living in a divided and fractured country, a divided and fractured society. Our politics is forcing us constantly to pick sides - you're Yes or No, Leave or Remain.
"This brings out the worst in our politics, the worst in our politicians, and all the consensus and progress that we normally find in the grey area is lost."
Presenter Andrew Neil pointed Ms Dugdale to a comment said to have been made by Labour MSP Anas Sarwar that "all forms of nationalism rely on creating an 'us' versus 'them' ... let's call it out for what it is".
Challenged that her party was "implying" that the Scottish nationalists are racist, Ms Dugdale replied: "I utterly refute that that is what Sadiq Khan said. And I have never suggested, and never would suggest, that the SNP are an inherently racist party."
Former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray was also asked about Mr Khan's remarks during the Sunday Politics Scotland show and said: "I think the way it's been construed hasn't necessarily been very helpful, but he's very clear about what he's said.
"What he said was that the politics of nationalism is divisive and I think anybody who's lived through Scottish politics in recent years would have to agree that that's the case."
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