Police Scotland has said they are ‘closely monitoring’ violent protests which have occurred in England following the knife attack which killed three children in Southport.
There have been multiple scenes of unrest and disorder in England this week in the wake of the Southport stabbing that saw the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Eight other children also suffered knife wounds, while two adults were also critically hurt.
Riots emerged in Southport, Manchester, Hartlepool this week, and last night eight people were arrested in Sunderland, while three police officers were hospitalised in a third night of violence.
People believed to be involved in far-right organisations were seen burning a police station and attacking a mosque in the Tyneside area.
MPs from all sides of the political spectrum have condemned violence amid fears it could continue throughout the weekend.
Now Police Scotland has said it will be closely monitoring the situation, but there is no intelligence to suggest violence similar to that in England.
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Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said: “We understand that these recent events may cause concern, that is why we have focused our efforts on increasing policing visibility and engagement across the country as our primary commitment remains the safety and wellbeing of all our communities and our officers and in building trust and confidence.
“We continue to closely monitor the events in England.
“Police Scotland is dedicated to upholding human rights and will not tolerate violence or discrimination against any group.
“We wish to thank the Scottish people for their support and while we believe there is no cause for alarm, we encourage anyone with concerns or information to report them to us.”
It is not clear if a protest will happen in Scotland this weekend, but a so-called “pro-UK rally” is scheduled for September 7, an event promoted by English Defence League (EDL) founder Tommy Robinson on social media.
Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, left the group more than a decade ago before it later collapsed, though its members are believed to have moved on to other far-right groups.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack and appeared in court earlier this week, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
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