First Minister John Swinney has said a gathering of political and civic leaders has started the process of protecting democratic values in Scotland.

About 50 organisations, including political parties, faith groups and charities, attended the forum in Glasgow.

Swinney told the BBC that Scotland's shared values were under "huge threat" from disinformation and pressure from the "hard right".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose party was previously linked to the far right by the first minister, told BBC Scotland News they were at "the centre ground of public opinion" and were "never part of the far right".

He said the summit showed "the great and the good" of Scottish politics were running scared of his party, which was not invited to attend.

All Holyrood parties except the Conservatives attended the event.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who attended the event, said the Scottish government must also take responsibility for failing to address issues facing ordinary Scots.

When Swinney announced plans to hold the forum in February, he said parties had to unite to "lock out" the "far right" from Scottish politics.

He specifically mentioned Reform UK, which polls suggest could make an electoral breakthrough in Scotland in next May's Holyrood election.

Reform insists it opposes far-right extremism.

The party was not specifically mentioned at the event, with four topics discussed -inequality and discrimination, media and misinformation, trust in politics, and democratic participation.

In an opening speech, the first minister said the day was "about talking and listening, but it also must be about acting" and that he hoped there would be progress on a "shared statement of principles" regarding democratic debate.

He quoted the late Pope Francis by saying "new paths" may be needed and that those in attendance needed to take "collective responsibility" to protect "values and the attributes of our society".

He said: "This gathering ultimately is about the quality of our democracy. It's not about symptoms, for example, how people choose to vote, but it's very much about identifying and seeking to understand deeper causes. What, at a deeper level, is driving disenchantment and polarisation?"

Swinney added the issue was not Scotland specific but a global one, with "anti-democratic forces and arguments gaining ground across the world".

Speaking after the event concluded, he rejected suggestions banning Reform would play to the party's advantage.

A group of Reform activists protested outside the summit, displaying placards that called Swinney and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar "democracy deniers" for the decision not to invite their party.

Farage told the BBC: "Everyone's invited to discuss the far right - the only people not invited are Reform UK and the implication of that is that the Scottish political establishment is scared of Reform UK and is subtly trying to say 'they're not here as they're what we fear'."

Farage added that a representative from Reform - who do not have any MSPs - would have attended the meeting if invited.

He said he had "done more to knock back the far right in British politics than anyone else alive", citing Reform taking support away from the British National Party in the north of England.

Liz Lloyd, who was chief of staff to Nicola Sturgeon when she was first minister, said Swinney's focus on Reform UK when he called the summit in February was "not helpful".

Ms Lloyd told the BBC's Scotcast podcast: "I'm thinking back to this being announced around about the time Trump was coming into power: there were a lot of questions about the nature of democracy and I think that's where it took off with this Reform focus.

"I wonder if they've realised that that is not helpful, because if you want to tackle the issues that perhaps drive people to far-right voting, or to sort of community division – as opposed to coming together – you actually need to not talk about the political parties, you need to talk about the concerns that are pushing them there."

A separate group of about five or six anti-immigration protesters also protested at the building, displaying banners calling for mass deportations.

Reform councillor Thomas Kerr, who defected from the Conservatives in January, disassociated Reform from the protesters.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay declined to attend.

He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme it was a "taxpayer-funded SNP talking shop" and accused the first minister of "grandstanding".

He said: "Politicians time would be better spent dealing with real world issues."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said he felt the meeting established "valuable principles about trust in politics and democratic participation."

However he added there now needed to be a "relentless focus on the issues that matter most, like swift local access to healthcare, fixing social care and tackling violence in our schools."

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said sections of the Scottish population felt disenfranchised from politics because they felt politicians were calling them too stupid or too bigoted.

He said: "Allowing everyone to freely debate - as long as they are respectful - and fully disagree but then come to decisions that positively impact people's lives is really important."

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie warned ministers must not legitimise the policies of the far-right ahead of the next Holyrood election.

He said: "You can't beat the far right by acting like them; legitimising their toxic rhetoric simply makes them louder and draws more media attention."

Harvie added: "People across Scotland need real change to improve their lives in the face of a broken economic system that is entrenching inequality."

When this "summit" was originally announced John Swinney made clear he wanted to counter the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party and others to the right of the Holyrood mainstream.

His plans have since been filtered by Scottish government civil servants and a less partisan format produced for this gathering of political, faith and civic leaders.

They are focussed on four key themes: tackling misinformation, reducing inequality and discrimination, improving trust in politics and guarding against electoral interference.

Mr Swinney hopes these discussions can result in "concrete steps" to defending shared values and the way democratic debate is traditionally conducted in Scotland.

Reform UK say their exclusion is a denial of democracy and both the Conservatives and Labour worry the gathering focusses too much attention on Nigel Farage's party at a time when polls suggest it is eating into their support.