First Minister John Swinney has criticised protesters in Glasgow whose behaviour “threatened the safety” of other people, after around 1,700 people took part in demonstrations in the city last month.
Speaking to the Press Association news agency, Mr Swinney said: “It is a fundamental priority for me as First Minister, to make sure the public are at all times safe.” He stressed it is “important we live in a society where people are able to express their views in protest”, but added it was also important people do this “in a manner that doesn’t threaten the safety of anybody else”.
He added: “I am afraid we have seen some examples of behaviour that have threatened the safety of other people.”
Community cohesion concerns
The demonstrations took place in Glasgow at the end of July amid heightened tensions due to immigration. There were 15 arrests at the 'Unite The Clans' demo, and trouble erupted again at another demonstration at the start of August, as protesters in the Priesthill area threw objects including bricks and eggs at police, with three cops injured.
Mr Swinney said that “the issues of community cohesion are issues that cause [him] deep concern” after the demonstrations highlighted divisions in the city. He accepted there are “a variety of issues at play” in the city.
Glasgow's summer achievements
Meanwhile, a recent BBC documentary about Glasgow featured assaults, drug dealing and racist incidents. Asked about public safety in Scotland’s largest city, Mr Swinney said he was “always concerned to ensure the public are safe”.
But he went on to insist that “Glasgow is a city which has much to be proud of”, saying its people had “welcomed the world” during this summer’s Commonwealth Games. He reflected: “I think if you step back and look at the whole of the city of Glasgow over the summer, you would see a city that welcomed the world to the Commonwealth Games, and did so very well and very happily and in a way that created enormous confidence in the city of Glasgow.”
Highlighting the “strengths of the city of Glasgow”, he said it had also “made its feelings known about the importance the city as a whole attaches to being a welcoming city and being an inclusive city”.
The First Minister stated: “I think the whole of the summer has demonstrated that Glasgow is a city which has much to be proud of, and the Scottish Government wants to make sure we work with the city to enhance the reputation of the city and the strength of the city and the achievements of the city and there have been many of those over the summer.”
