Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 June 2026 [Last updated 18:45]
10 Jun 2026 · S7 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Urgent Question
Racist Demonstrations (Glasgow)
I commend Paul Sweeney for his contributions in the chamber. There is a lot of unanimity across the Parliament, and we should all be careful with our words in general when discussing such matters.
These are aggravated offences. I commend the cabinet secretary for his response, but does he agree that the nature of the offences is so significant that we need to make example of a zero-tolerance approach to such crime and that, when we get to it, the sentencing should reflect that?
In the same item of business
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action it will take in response to the reported violent racist demonstrations that took place last night in Glasgow.
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Neil Gray)
SNP
The actions of a very small number of individuals in parts of Scotland last night, which included the assaulting of police officers and members of minority e...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
Last night, racist thugs stormed through the centre of Glasgow under the white nationalist slogan “White lives matter”. Members of the public were attacked i...
Neil Gray
SNP
I completely agree with everything that Paul Sweeney has put on the record in his supplementary question. The Scottish Government’s approach is grounded in t...
The Presiding Officer (Kenneth Gibson)
NPA
Before Paul Sweeney comes back in, I say to him that I am looking for questions rather than speeches. Other members are keen to come in, so it is important t...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
Some members of the Parliament have sought to fan the flames of division with continual talk of “strangers” and calls for further protests tonight. Does the ...
Neil Gray
SNP
I fundamentally and completely agree with what Paul Sweeney has said—I believe that to my core. We are a welcoming nation. We have benefited from migration t...
Clare Haughey (Rutherglen and Cambuslang) (SNP)
SNP
The scenes in Glasgow city centre and in other parts of Scotland—and, indeed, in Belfast—were truly shocking. Those scenes and all racism must be condemned b...
Neil Gray
SNP
In the first instance, those efforts are being led by Police Scotland in the work that it is doing to reassure communities across Scotland. Work is ongoing i...
Stephen Kerr (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Looking at the footage of last night’s events, we see that it was not protest but criminal disorder. Families should be able to go about their daily lives in...
Neil Gray
SNP
I agree with Mr Kerr’s points. Of course, there is a right to protest and to organise peacefully, but that is not what we saw last night. We saw thuggery and...
Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP)
SNP
I commend Paul Sweeney for his contributions in the chamber. There is a lot of unanimity across the Parliament, and we should all be careful with our words i...
Neil Gray
SNP
I understand the motivation behind Mr Smith’s questions. He will understand that Police Scotland, the Courts and Tribunals Service and the Crown are rightly ...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
That concludes the urgent question. We will have a one-minute break to switch over, after which we will resume with portfolio questions.