A far-right bigot has targeted Muslim Scottish Government minister Humza Yousaf at his constituency office.
Jayda Fransen, who was jailed over hate crimes against Muslims, held a banner proclaiming “it’s okay to be white” outside Yousaf’s constituency HQ.
It is understood Police Scotland has asked Yousaf if he needs extra security.
Yousaf hit out: “Their intimidation has not and will not work.”
The SNP MSP has spoken in the past about death threats he has received from racists.
It has now emerged that Fransen, who used to be deputy leader of the far right Britain First and reportedly lives in Northern Ireland, has been trying to intimidate Yousaf.
She and four others were outside the MSP’s Glasgow Pollok constituency office on Saturday and a picture was taken.
The vile banner, which had a “British Freedom Party” logo on it, included the “all lives matter” phrase which is seen as mocking the Black Lives Matter movement.
Yousaf said: “In recent months the far-right have sent me death threats, targeting not only me but my family on the back of my solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and my promotion of the Hate Crime Bill.
“They have done their best to try and intimidate and silence me from speaking out and taking a stand against racism and hatred that exists in our society.
“Being the only ethnic minority in the Scottish Government can at times feel lonely. I am targeted in a way my colleagues never will be, purely because of the colour of my skin or my faith. Despite that, I know the vast overwhelming majority of Scots reject the message of hatred promoted by the far-right.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of the protest and officers attended. No arrests made and the group dispersed around 1.40pm.”
Yousaf was not in his office at the time of the protest on Saturday.
In 2018, Fransen was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison after being found guilty at Folkestone magistrate’s court of three counts of religiously aggravated harassment.
Paul Golding, then leader of Britain First, was found guilty of one charge and handed an 18 week sentence.
The court heard that Fransen and Golding had targeted people who they believed were connected to a trial at Canterbury Crown Court where three Muslim men and a teenager were convicted of rape.
Judge Justin Barron said: “I have no doubt it was their joint intention to use the facts of the [Canterbury] case for their own political ends. It was a campaign to draw attention to the race, religion and immigrant background of the defendants.”
One of the counts Fransen was convicted of involved visiting the home of a defendant and shouting racist abuse through the front door while his pregnant partner was there.
Giving evidence, the partner said: “She was making racist remarks: ‘Dirty Muslim rapist, come out, we’re not going to leave until you’re gone, come out. Dirty scumbags’.
“It was directed at [her male partner] because she thought he was in there but he wasn’t.
“I was also pregnant at the time it happened, two days after I started to bleed heavily and lost my daughter, she was stillborn.
“I blame Jayda Fransen because there was no other reason for it to happen.”
In 2019, Fransen was convicted of stirring up hatred during a speech about Islam in Belfast, and for separate comments at a peace wall in the city.
