The leader of Reform UK in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, has been dismissed as “tone deaf” and “entitled” after he boasted in a televised election debate about the number of cars, houses and boats he owned.

Responding to the row on Wednesday morning, the SNP leader, John Swinney , proposed that all party leaders should publish their tax returns before the election on 7 May.

Offord, a multimillionaire financier and former Conservative life peer who defected to Reform and was announced as the party’s first Scottish leader in January, told the STV debate on Tuesday evening: “I went to London 40 years ago with £2,000 of debt.

“Full of ambition, I worked hard and I was successful. Today, I own six houses, five cars and six boats. In a 40-year business career I’ve employed hundreds of thousands of people and paid £45m in tax.”

Offord made the remarks during a section of the programme where the six party leaders questioned one another.…