ONE MAN has been arrested after a series of attacks in Edinburgh last night, Friday, 19th June, left five people injured. Counter-terrorism officers are working with local police on the investigation.
The attacks seem to have begun near the Broomhouse mosque in the west of Edinburgh, leaving two men injured. Social media posts show a bear-chested man leaving the scene. They were taken to hospital. Three other men were attacked on Telford Road and Leith Walk. The police have confirmed that five men were attacked: two aged 22, the others aged 24, 27 and 39.
The man was then seen near a Shell petrol station, where the main committed acts of vandalism, including smashing the windows of a taxi. An axe was seen inside the taxi. He was then seen near a pizzeria several, where he battered the door. Footage on social media shows the man committing acts of vandalism at a second petrol garage. In one film, the man can be heard saying that he is “protecting our country”.
After a number of attacks had taken place, the police managed to overpower the suspect and then arrest him. He is being held in custody.
The attacks were widely condemned. First Minister John Swinney said, “There is no place for violence, racism or intolerance in our society.” Ben Macpherson, SNP MSP for Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith, praised the diversity of the area and said, “People here will be appalled by this violent attack.” Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said there was “no place for racism or faith-based hate in Scotland”. The attacks have also been condemned by various Muslim groups, including the Muslim Council of Britain and MEND Scotland.
The Edinburgh attacks comes after three nights of violence in Belfast, as far right gangs visited homes where Black and Minority Ethnic residents lived and tried, with some success, to drive them out of their homes – leaving residents in fear. Now Muslims in Edinburgh are reported to be feeling similarly anxious.
These attacks require far more than the usual expressions of shock from MPs. If Labour is trying to salvage its reputation, it needs to drop Shabana Mahmood’s attempts to out-racism Reform with new anti-immigrant policies. Both she and other Labour MPs need to be banned from spouting racist drivel about immigrants and people of colour. The campaign against Reform, whose policies fuel these racist attacks, cannot be conducted in the tea rooms of Westminster – it needs to come out onto the streets.
●Read more about it: Stephen Lawrence: still fighting racism, 25 years on Trump in new racism row