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A TORY MSP called for Halloween to be scrapped, it has emerged.

Evangelical Christian Jeremy Balfour said believers were becoming concerned at the way kids celebrated the festival.

He claimed: “There has been a growing movement towards the darker side.

“There is such a thing as the Devil and evil spirits, and when schools put on Halloween events there are many concerns among Christian parents.”

(Image: Getty)

He suggested “an alternative where children could play and explore the imagination – but without Halloween’s connotations of witches and the occult”.

Balfour made the comments in 2000 while a lobbyist for the Evangelical Alliance. An SNP source said yesterday: “Halloween is a fun tradition enjoyed by many. There are scarier characters in the Tory Party than you’re likely to see out guising tonight.”

The Scottish Tories refused to comment. Balfour, elected as a Lothians MSP in May, was also director of a right-wing think tank when they questioned the morality of rape victims taking the morning-after pill.