Calls are mounting for Police Scotland to take action against Ulster Loyalist figures who are travelling to Scotland to inflame far-right protests, following a demonstration in Glasgow that saw convicted criminals at the heart of the disorder.
Links between Loyalists and Scottish far-right
The Daily Record can reveal strong links have been forged between Ulster Loyalist groups and Scots far-right figures driving anti-immigrant protests. At the Glasgow Green protest, sectarian killer Glen Kane teamed up with UVF-linked bank robber Mark Sinclair, both from Northern Ireland. The pair published videos showing widespread disorder.
Sinclair, 56, a self-confessed former UVF member from the Shankill area of west Belfast, travels from city to city to spread his right-wing message. In 2003, he was jailed for 18 years for robbing three Clydesdale Bank branches in Troon, Stewarton and Dalbeattie, with the robberies linked to paramilitary activities. He told the court he had been sent to Scotland by security services to spy on UDA members. His gang stole £13,000, and he had three previous convictions for armed robbery.
Kane's criminal past
Glen Kane, 60, was jailed for nine years for manslaughter after the sectarian killing of Catholic man Kieran Abram during a riot in Belfast in July 1992. Now known as Mr X on social media, Kane has reinvented himself as a far-right campaigner, recently sporting Stop the Boats slogans. He has admitted to being a former BNP member.
Irish media claims Kane has invited anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson to Belfast, and he was photographed with leading British right-wing figure Danny Tommo in east Belfast.
Stand Up to Racism response
Mohammed Asif of Stand Up to Racism in Scotland said there is clear evidence that Loyalist extremists are key players in Scotland's far-right movement. He said: "We said from the very start that the protests erupting in Scotland were infiltrated by hardcore racists, including convicted criminals from across the UK. We said this from when we started our counter protest at the hotel in Erskine in 2023 and then in Falkirk last year and we can now see how events in Scotland are feeding back to people in England and Ireland, whose motivation is to amplify racial tensions."
Asif called for stricter police action against incomers. He said: "It is now time for the Scottish Government and Police Scotland to really see the threat that now comes from outside Scotland. Police need to go hard on people coming from you know Northern Ireland and England to cause troubles in peaceful towns and cities in Scotland."
He added that protests had been "hijacked" to push a false narrative. "In a democracy it is normal for people to protest and the demonstrations we saw in earlier days about asylum seeker hotels were quite different. They have now been hijacked to push the narrative that women and children are under threat from every person who seeks asylum in Scotland. This is simply untrue."
Videos and conspiracy theories
At the Glasgow Green event, Kane and Sinclair, who calls himself "Freedom Dad" online, posted videos claiming the white population of Glasgow was being "replaced" by immigrants. One video on Sinclair's YouTube channel, which has 17,000 subscribers, showed protestors jostling with police. In another, shot in a restaurant, Kane and Sinclair discussed the day's events, with Sinclair asking Kane if he was "the leader of the far right in Scotland."
Sinclair spouted the white supremacist "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, pointing to immigrant-owned businesses and saying "Glasgow is gone." He claimed five people had travelled from Belfast, plus others from Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and Hull, and called the demo "really dangerous" due to the Green Brigade's involvement.
Wider connections and political reaction
Hope Not Hate has tracked links between Loyalist extremists and Scotland's far-right. Daniel Thomas, aka Danny Tommo, travelled to Belfast after a June 9 attack and posted photos with Sinclair and Kane hours before riots began.
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and other politicians condemned the violence at Glasgow Green. Justice Secretary Neil Gray said: "While the Scottish Government strongly supports the rights of people to protest lawfully and peacefully in a democracy. Any form of hatred, prejudice, intolerance or violence on our streets is abhorrent and I support Police Scotland in taking appropriate and proportionate action against any criminal behaviour."
The Unite the Clans demo was badged as an event to "Protect Our Women and Kids," but serial domestic abusers were prominent. The Daily Record spotlighted Ryan Marshall, who made Nazi salutes, and Alan Miller, who battered partners and his mum. Campaigners warned someone could die as protests slope towards riots. Police say 1,700 people took part, with 15 arrests for offences including assault and possession of offensive weapons.
