THE Scottish Government has condemned the increase in damaging rhetoric against asylum seekers, saying "refugees must not be scapegoated".
Minister for Equalities Kaukab Stewart told The National that she is "deeply concerned about some of the rhetoric we are seeing in the UK" surrounding asylum seekers following Epping Council's successful bid to block them from staying in a particular hotel.
Demonstrations against asylum seekers staying in hotels have sprung up across the UK, including in Scotland, with those attending claiming they are making their communities less safe.
Nigel Farage called for "peaceful protests" outside hotels housing asylum seekers "across the UK" to put pressure on local authorities to take the same route as the administration in Epping.
Writing in The Telegraph, the Reform UK chief said: “Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex.
“Let’s hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.”
Responding to comments by Farage, Stewart said: “The Scottish Government firmly believes we must deliver a more effective and humane asylum system that treats people who may be highly vulnerable with dignity and respect.
“I am deeply concerned about some of the rhetoric we are seeing in the UK, which should have no place in our society. No one should have to fear they will be targeted for who they are and it is critical that everyone feels safe."
Stewart (above) added: “Refugees must not be scapegoated – they must be treated as valuable members of our communities.”
Protesters in Perth, Falkirk, Aberdeen and Peterhead have all taken place outside hotels housing asylum seekers in recent weeks with another due to be held in Perth this Saturday advertised on The Great British National Protest page.
It comes after former first minister Humza Yousaf accused the Tories of “deliberately trying to fuel hatred” against asylum seekers by presenting them as a threat to women and children.
Yousaf said politicians like Robert Jenrick were “reviving the old colonial lie that people from the east are somehow dangerous savages”.
Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has said he supports “every peaceful protest outside an asylum hotel” and later attended one in Epping, where an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
