Actor Alan Cumming criticised for comments blaming Brexit on 'stupid English people'

Scottish actor Alan Cumming has come under fire for comments in which he blamed "stupid English people" for the vote to leave the EU.

The Perthshire-born film and television star, 51, was accused of stoking anti-English sentiment in an interview with the Sunday Herald in which he said: "I was appalled when I heard the result and I have three words to sum it up. Stupid. English. People."

Cumming, who lives in the US, made the comments in reference to Scotland facing an exit from the EU despite the majority of the population voting to remain.

The 51-year-old X-Men star added: "Now, I hope that people will see the irony in that one of the major reasons the Yes vote didn’t win was people were scared we wouldn’t be allowed in the EU if we were independent. And now we’re not allowed to be in the EU because we’re part of Britain."

Cumming is in favour of Scottish independence and shared a platform with then First Minister Alex Salmond at the launch of the Yes Scotland campaign in 2012.

Former Labour MP Tom Harris, who led the Scottish Vote Leave campaign, said Cumming's comments were "offensive".

"If the English were stupid to vote for Leave then what does that make the one million Scots who voted Leave," he told the Daily Express.

"It is such a horrible, nasty, divisive thing to say and doesn’t do the nationalist cause any good."

Murdo Fraser, Mid Fife and Scotland MSP for the Scottish Conservatives told The Courier: "Language like this is deeply unhelpful and only serves to stir up tensions. I hope that Alan Cumming will reflect on his choice of words and regret them."