Police in Glasgow have said that there is nothing to suggest planned protests in the city centre today amid fears of violent disorder spreading to Scotland.
The Herald has received reports this morning that ‘far-right’ protestors were set to gather in George Square before marching toward a hotel on Paisley Road West.
It comes amid a spate of violent protests and attacks emerging across the UK in recent days following the knife attack in Southport that claimed the lives of three young girls attending a Taylor Swift holiday event.
Plans for a ‘pro-uk’ demonstration at George Square on September 7 were backed on social media by far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, whose birth name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, with a post stating: "The British are rising".
The post online received significant backlash from politicians and residents in Glasgow with many saying Mr Robinson was not welcome in the city.
Police Scotland last week said it would be ‘closely monitoring’ the situation in England amid fears the violence could spread to Scotland.
Rumours have circulated this morning that members of the far right would be gathering in George Square and marking to the former Swallows Hotel on Paisley Road West near Ibrox.
A source also told the Herald that they had been told to stay away from the city centre due to ‘unrest’.
However, authorities have now suggested that the news of protests today is the result of misinformation spreading online.
After visiting George Square at the supposed start time of the protest, it was clear that fears of the protests were unfounded.
The Glasgow landmark as typically quiet for a Wednesday afternoon, with the only site of potential violence coming from local pigeons scrapping for the crumbs left by Glasgow workers enjoying their lunchbreak on the benches.
READ MORE:
- 'Scottish Defence Force' protest to be met with counter demo
- Glasgow urged to reject 'far right' as Tommy Robinson backs rally in George Square
- Southport stabbing suspect named as judge lifts restrictions
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We are aware of speculation circulating about a protest in George Square, Glasgow, today.
“There is no intelligence to suggest any protest is planned. Please be wary of what you read on social media, and avoid speculation and sharing information which may be inaccurate.”
In England, anti-protests have been organised by the activist group Stand Up Against Racism.
An activist local to Glasgow working with the group has suggested the rumours of today’s protest in George Square, and suggested the event has been falsely promoted by the far right in an attempt to spread confusion.
A local activist from Stand Up to Racism said: “We’ve heard rumblings of various things. One of the elements this group are trying to do is put a lot of confusion in the air. We haven’t had anything credible as such that something concrete is happening.
“That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. What the far right are hoping to do is push people out on the street and it not be planned.
“They’re throwing a lot of stuff out to see what sticks, that doesn’t mean there is anything planned but we’ll be keeping an eye on what happens in Glasgow and the police are aware of it as well. I don’t foresee there being a major issue today, I think they’ll try go for Saturday when they have more numbers."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel