A Scottish Labour MP has praised SNP's Humza Yousaf for speaking out about his fears for his family following violence on the streets of England.

Dr Zubir Ahmed reached across the political divide to share his sympathies with the former First Minister who said on Monday the past week of unrest had left him unsure if he should should remain in the UK with his wife and three children.

The MP for Glasgow South West, who is also a surgeon, said many non white families in the UK share Mr Yousaf's concerns.

He also warned anti-racist protesters against organising demonstrations against the far right amid fears that these events could be counterproductive and trigger a violent backlash.

Stand Up To Racism said it had organised a counter-protest to social media reports of a far right rally on Friday in Paisley. A large anti racism rally is being organised in Glasgow on September 7.

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Pressed on why he thought people should not turn out to support these events, he said: "What would they be counter protesting about as there are no protests planned for Scotland?

"We have got to take the heat out of this situation and if people want to show solidarity to people from certain communities, you do it by meeting them, listening to their concerns and having discourse, maybe around the issues such as Humza Yousaf has spoken about.

"I don't think you change the dial on those issues by simply having protests. There is a place for protests undoubtedly but it not the default lever for every unrest."

He said personally he had not experienced any threats and praised Mr Yousaf for speaking out and sharing his own fears.

"Of course as a person of colour, as someone with a different religion - it's not affecting just Muslims - they [the thugs] see anyone who is not white as fair game - all of us will be having reflections about how we protect ourselves, our children and our families," he added.

"I think the rest of the country do need to understand how some of their fellow citizens feel and Mr Yousaf's comments will provide a moment of reflection for all of us," he said.

"We have travelled very far in the past 30 or 40 years but there is work to do and Humza's statement highlights the work that needs to be done."

(Image: PA)

"This is nothing to do with [party] politics, whether it is him or other people who have talked to me in a similar vein about these issues. We are united," said the MP.

"I am glad he has spoken out. It is a conversation which is taking place at dinner tables across the country.

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"And when people are having those conversations they are thinking about the dark days of the 1970s and 80s which our elders lived through.

"But I would also urge a sense of caution. We are not back in those days. We have travelled a long way on the journey to ending discrimination, to bringing these issues into the public eye in a way perhaps they were not."

He added that he still looked to the future with "hope in this country" and believed the UK was diverse and tolerant especially in comparison with parts of continental Europe and the US.

"This is why people are literally dying to get into Britain. The last few weeks have shown things that are not attractive about it but that needs to be put in the wider successes of where we are and who we are," he said.

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"There will be tensions of diversity and stress tests of democracy. I believe this is a stress test of our democracy. But I am optimistic we will overcome it. But what then needs to happen is a period of reflection on how we move forward.

"How the situation has been allowed to happen, the root causes of the violence, thuggery and Islamophobia. We need to investigate all of that and when we do that we can look at the rhetoric of certain people in positions of power and responsibility.

"We will have to have some cold hard reflection about that. But I am optimistic. We have co-existed for so long and that is not to minimise the tensions that exist which have been put into sharp focus by the events of last week."

Dr Ahmed said Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper were dealing with the violent disorder well.

"They are showing us that the current rule of law is capable of defeating [the rioters]. I am confident of that," he said.

Speaking of how far right ideas had seeped into the mainstream, he went on: "We should definitely worry as we have allowed minority voices to take hold of the mainstream."

And he cautioned against misinformation on social media and counter protests.

"I don't want to be complacent," he said.

"I am in regular contact with the police. There is no intelligence of any large scale disorder at the moment [in Scotland]. But that does not mean to say some of the symptoms behind the protests in England does not exist in Scotland. We have many of those diseases and issues and we need to be mindful of that."

He added: "I would really caution the public not to forward messages when they don't know where they have come from. And I would even caution them not to go out onto the streets in counter protests. I think that would be unhelpful."

Mr Yousaf told The News Agents podcast on Tuesday that the scenes of violence on Britain’s streets, much of it targeting people from ethnic minorities, had been “horrendous”.

He said: “You cut me open, I’m as about as Scottish as you come.

“But the truth of the matter is, I don’t know whether the future for me and my wife and my three children is going to be here in Scotland or the United Kingdom, or indeed in Europe and the West, because I have for some time really worried about the rise of Islamophobia.”

Adding that he did not want to leave the UK, Mr Yousaf, who resigned as first minister in May, said the “language of the far-right” had “become institutionalised in our politics”, laying the blame with prominent politicians such as Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage.

He said rioters were “going after people who are black, who are Asian, who are Muslim and that, again, comes back to some of the language that’s been used far too often in our politics about people not adopting our values”.

Mr Farage has denied that his comments have contributed to the recent outbreak of violence on Britain’s streets, claiming it was fuelled by the authorities not providing enough details about the identity of the suspect in last week’s Southport knife attack.

Mr Yousaf’s comments were echoed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who said “black, brown and minority” people did not feel safe in some parts of the country.

In a series of tweets, Mr Khan said: “Our communities are facing the threat of hatred – including violence – fuelled by insidious racism, prejudice, and Islamophobia.

“It’s the legacy of decades of dog whistles, including from some irresponsible politicians.

“We all bear not just the responsibility, but also the duty to stand up to hate. To be vocal. To be allies to those who are being unjustly targeted – online and off.

“To our Black, Brown and minority communities: NEVER forget that you are loved and wanted in London.”