THE Scottish Refugee Council has called for "real leadership" from Scotland's politicians following "deeply disturbing" demonstrations across the Central Belt.
Violent demonstrations took place in areas across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Northern Ireland last night following Monday night’s stabbing attack in Belfast.
Protesters set fire to houses, buses and cars in Belfast as disorder flared at an anti-immigration demonstration, with hundreds gathering in Glasgow and Ayr , as well as a smaller number in Edinburgh and Aberdeen .
In Glasgow, protesters called for an "end to mass immigration" while holding signs and banners with slogans including "Scotland for the Scottish".
Videos spread online of masked men shouting at passers-by on the street and physically attacking people.
Sabir Zazai, chief executive of Scottish Refugee Council, called out "irresponsible language" being used by politicians to "whip up fear and hatred".
He told The National: "We stand in solidarity with everyone who has been affected by the deeply disturbing events across central Scotland last night.
"Words have consequences and we are seeing in real time the human cost of irresponsible language being deliberately used by some politicians, in our headlines and on social media to whip up fear and hatred. Harmful narratives are being peddled as facts resulting in violence on our streets and people being targeted because of the colour of their skin.
Demonstrations were held in a number of locations across Scotland last night, Tuesday, 9 June, 2026. Three men, aged 31, 18 and 18 have been arrested and charged in connection with various offences in Glasgow during the evening. Statement: https://t.co/XhaEssMwAT pic.twitter.com/rZ2RtYXPE2
— Police Scotland (@PoliceScotland) June 10, 2026
"Our thoughts are with everyone who has been made to feel unsafe or unwelcome. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. We need to see real and sustained leadership from our political leaders which is more than just warm words. We need an active commitment to bring communities together and call out racism and misinformation when it is seen and heard.
"The toxic rhetoric and use of falsehoods to scapegoat people seeking safety needs to stop. People seeking protection are not a problem needing to be solved – it is the systemic failures in housing, cost of living and the immigration system that need to be fixed."
Three men, aged 31, 18 and 18 have been arrested and charged in connection with various offences in Glasgow during Tuesday evening.
Three members of the public were injured, all in Glasgow, with chief constable Alan Waddell confirming they "were attacked because of the colour of their skin" .
Two officers were also injured.
Talat Yaqoob, co-convener Women Against the Far Right Scotland, said: “The scenes in Glasgow yesterday were horrific and are yet another example of how far-right agitations are spreading their hate and division across our communities.
"The far-right are exploiting every opportunity they can to target marginalised communities through intimidation and violence. These groups do not care about Scotland, they do not care about working class communities, they only care about spreading their racist ideology.
"We cannot and will not let them win. We stand in solidarity with our diverse communities across Glasgow and beyond.”
Elsewhere, Stand Up to Racism Glasgow said the scenes in the city were "repugnant" and urged Glaswegians to stand against attempts to spread violence and hatred.
A statement posted on Instagram said: "Glaswegians of all backgrounds and of all faiths and none will stand together against any attempts to spread violence and hatred in our communities.
"Time and again we have shown the far right a majority of us reject their poison. We will not allow fascists to march on our streets unopposed and we are already mobilising to oppose their planned protest in Glasgow on Saturday 25 July."
Amnesty International said it too was "deeply concerned" by violence erupting in Scotland adding it was a "reminder of the harm caused when entire communities are scapegoated and when racism is allowed to go unchallenged".
