NORTHERN Irish DUP leader Arlene Foster will insist a UK that values its people "will endure” when she leads a major Orange Order parade in Scotland later this month

Ms Foster will be a guest at the Boyne demonstration in Cowdenbeath, Fife, where she is expected to be the main speaker on the platform.

But critics have urged her to rethink the move, insisting the event is fuelled by bigotry and hatred.

An SNP source said: “We have no knowledge of this visit and are really struggling to believe that Arlene Foster believes that this is a sensible idea.”

READ MORE: Orange Order in Scotland is on the brink of collapse, according to leading historian Tom Devine

The DUP revealed Ms Foster will tell marchers that people will be reluctant to leave the UK if they feel valued.

A spokesman said: “The SNP should have weightier worries about Scotland than Arlene Foster’s diary commitments.

“Mrs Foster has accepted an invitation from the Scottish Orange Order to speak at an event later this month. She will deliver the same message in Scotland as in Northern Ireland.”

He said Ms Foster would talk of the need for a UK where “people feel at home and where they feel comfortable living and working regardless of their background”.

She will add: “A United Kingdom where people feel valued will endure. People will be a reluctant to leave the Union in such a circumstance.”

READ MORE: Orange Order to launch 'charm offensive' in response to negative media coverage

Ms Foster, who was Northern Ireland’s First Minister until the collapse of the Stormont power-sharing agreement last year, will also insist there is no place for “sectarianism or prejudice against any section of our community – that includes the Orange Order”.

Scottish Labour MSP Alex Rowley, who represents Fife, said appearing at the parade would be “unwise” given the DUP’s position propping up the Conservative Government in Westminster.

He said: “I’m not sure it’s the wisest thing for Arlene Foster to do, for so many reasons.

“She’s propping up the British Government at the current time. To come to a march and a rally in Fife that’s based around bigotry and hate – I’m just not sure that’s a wise thing to do.

READ MORE: Orange Order in Scotland is on the brink of collapse, according to leading historian Tom Devine

“She should not come to Fife and participate in a march that’s based around bigotry. I hope she doesn’t come. I really would caution her against it.”

The parade, which has been organised by the Country Grand Lodge of the East of Scotland, will take place on Saturday, June 30. Around 5,000 people are expected to attend.

Dave Scott, director of anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth, said Ms Foster’s planned appearance was “a pretty unprecedented thing to happen in Scottish loyalism and will be viewed as highly significant by both friend and foe of the Orange Order here”.

Mr Scott, who comes from Northern Ireland, said supporters will see it as providing validation to the Order, while critics will accuse her of “trying to remain visible and crudely playing to her political base by pitching up in Nicola Sturgeon’s patch”.

He added: “Arlene Foster has shared power with Republicans over most of the last decade so it will be interesting to hear if she chooses to reflect on that experience in any public statements she might make in Scotland and how that is received by her audience.”

READ MORE: Orange Order to launch 'charm offensive' in response to negative media coverage

Scottish Greens’ co-convener Patrick Harvie MSP condemned the move, which comes after it was reported US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Scotland this summer.

He said: “First Arlene, then Donald. Many people in Scotland would prefer them both to make different holiday plans – we don’t want a reputation for hosting a summit of the least-likeable political leaders this summer.

“If Arlene Foster does come across the Irish Sea she’d be better off discussing how to avoid a hard Brexit, or learning about the importance of equal marriage or women’s access to free, safe and legal abortion, rather than taking part in yet another sectarian march.”

The Orange Order said it would not speak to The Herald.

But Robert McLean, executive officer at The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, told The Sun: “Arlene Foster is the guest speaker and will be at the front of the parade. She will be the main speaker on the platform."

He said former Northern Ireland First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson had previously attended an Orange Order event in Ayrshire.