Tommy Robinson 'not welcome in Glasgow', says SNP council leader, amid calls to reject far-right rally

A “pro-UK rally” has been planned for the city’s George Square on September 7, with the English Defence League (EDL) founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, promoting the event on social media. Plans for the rally come after violence in Southport, Merseyside, 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.

Council leader Susan Aitken tweeted: “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.” Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he had “no doubt” Glasgow will reject the far-right.

He said the “single most important issue” was to support the families of the children who were killed - Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and the wider community of Southport.

His comments came as the 17-year-old charged with murder – Axel Rudakubana – appeared in court.

Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured.

On Wednesday evening, more than 100 protesters were arrested in Whitehall, where bottles and cans were thrown at police, and violence broke out in Hartlepool, County Durham, where a police car was set alight.

Mr Sarwar said: “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.”

Mr Yaxley-Lennon shared a post on social media that said the Glasgow event would coincide with “other pro-UK rallies”. It said it would be a “peaceful protest to share our distrust and fear of the future”.

He did not indicate whether he planned to attend, tweeting only: “The British are rising.” Mr Yaxley-Lennon is the subject of an arrest warrant after leaving the country shortly before a major legal case against him. In a letter to UK 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.

Mr Yousaf said the UK has a “far-right problem”.

Mr Sarwar called 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.

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