Tommy Robinson and supporters 'not welcome' in Glasgow, says council leader

Glasgow’s council leader has said far-right activist Tommy Robinson and his supporters are “not welcome” in the city.

The English Defence League (EDL) founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared a post promoting a rally in George Square on September 7.

Plans for the gathering come after violence in Southport this week following the killings of three young girls in a knife attack.

Police say the scenes were sparked by supporters of the far right, claiming those present backed the EDL – although the organisation has not existed for around a decade.

Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Council leader, said there had been no notification of a rally but that Robinson and “anyone who chooses to align with his poisonous rhetoric” is not welcome in the city.

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She said on X: “Glasgow City Council has received no notification of any rally but then we know Tommy Robinson and his ilk don’t really care about respecting laws or public places.

“He’s not welcome in Glasgow and neither is anyone who chooses to align with his poisonous rhetoric.”

Police Scotland confirmed it was aware of a planned protest and that a policing plan was in place.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The right to peaceful public assembly and freedom of expression are important rights to uphold but they should never be used to justify any form of hateful, violent, intimidating or otherwise criminal behaviour.

“Police Scotland has powers under the Public Order Act 1986 to deal with any disorder arising and to ensure that public safety and order is maintained.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he has “no doubt” Glasgow will reject the far right.

He added: “I’m a son of Glasgow, I was born in Glasgow – Glasgow is my city.

“I know as a Glaswegian, that we have always had a view – we can’t be complacent, we can’t pretend that there aren’t issues here – but we’ve always been a city that regardless where you come from, regardless of where you were born, when you come here you’re one of us and we’re one Glasgow.

“There have been attempts by the far right before to do protests here or to sow divisions here.

“Every single time the far right has tried to do that in Glasgow, Glasgow has overwhelmingly rejected them.

“I have no doubt Glasgow will do that again if this happens.”

In a letter to home secretary Yvette Cooper on Wednesday, former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf urged her to proscribe the EDL and its “offshoots” under terrorism legislation, making it illegal to be a member of the groups.

Asked about such a move, Sarwar said “every option should be on the table”.

Yousaf also said in the letter that the UK has a “far right problem”, but the Scottish Labour leader suggested such a characterisation could portray such movements as being more mainstream.

“They want to pretend that they are a mainstream movement that represents a significant level of the population,” he said.

“I’m not pretending there isn’t an element, I’m not pretending there isn’t a challenge we have to push back against, but I continue to believe that the overwhelming majority of our country, whether that be here in Scotland, across the rest of the UK, are fair minded, decent individuals who believe in pulling our communities together rather than pulling our communities apart.”

Sarwar went on to call on social media firms to do more, saying the far right was “recruiting, organising, amplifying, fundraising online”.

“All of that can stop if the social media platforms take the appropriate action,” he said.

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie wrote to his fellow Glasgow MSPs calling for a united response to the rally.

He said: “Glasgow is a proudly multicultural city with a long history of standing up against the far right.

“There’s no place for the fear, hate and division of these gangs here, nor for the violence and criminality they bring.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a new “national capability” across police forces to combat the violent disorder seen in parts of England in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

Speaking during a press conference held after a meeting with senior police chiefs, Sir Keir thanked police officers who “stood up to intimidation and violence”.

He said the meeting was held to “pull together our response, response both to the immediate challenge which is clearly driven by far-right hatred, but also all violent disorder that flares up whatever the apparent cause or motivation”.

Sir Keir added: “We make no distinction. Crime is crime. And so, to that end, I can announce today that, following this meeting, we will establish a national capability across police forces to tackle violent disorder.

“These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community. We must have a policing response that can do the same. Shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventative action, criminal behaviour orders to restrict their movements, before they can even board a train. In just the same way that we do with football hooligans.

“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.

“That is the single most important duty of government, service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.”

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