Reform UK's Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, has spoken publicly for the first time about his prostate cancer diagnosis, saying he now feels "healthy" and "mended" following surgery. The peer underwent months of tests that began during the Holyrood election campaign and culminated in a diagnosis on polling day, with doctors describing the cancer as aggressive, though it had not spread. His openness about the illness matters because it comes as he prepares to lead Reform's 17-strong group of MSPs at Holyrood this autumn.

Lord Offord, who turns 62 today, scored eight out of ten on the Gleason scale used to assess prostate cancer risk, and had his prostate removed last month via privately arranged treatment. His diagnosis only became public after he was seen wearing a hospital wristband at an Edinburgh Fringe event. Speaking to the Mail at Reform's conference in Birmingham, he credited a positive mindset and the distraction of work for helping him through treatment, and revealed he has overhauled his lifestyle, cutting out Scotch pies and processed food, drinking less, and exercising more, having grown up eating the pies regularly while working at a Greenock bakery.