A COUNTER protest has been confirmed after far-right group Patriotic Alternative confirmed plans to target a Scottish hotel set to house asylum seekers.
On Tuesday night, Stand Up to Racism (SUTR), in partnership with Paisley and Clydebank Trades Councils and locals, called a counter-protest to the protest - which locals claim has been hijacked by extremist right-wing Patriotic Alternative (PA).
PA was reported to be attempting to use a local Facebook group set up by residents of Erskine, who are campaigning against plans for almost 200 asylum seekers to be housed in the MGM Muthu Glasgow River Hotel.
Locals in Erskine have now postponed their action planned for Sunday outside the hotel and say they will “sit back … observe and let these groups with alternative motions have their day” and then resume their local campaign.
A spokesperson for SUTR said: “We welcome that more and more people originally unaware of the nature of PA have now publicly distanced themselves from them and from the hotel protest on Sunday.
“PA members are trying to stir up hatred in Erskine by exploiting concerns over asylum seekers being housed in the local hotel. Communities need funding, not racism and scapegoating.”
SUTR added that the counter-protest will go ahead on Sunday to “expose the fascist ideology at the heart of PA" and counter the attempt by PA to jump on and "poison" local issues against asylum seekers.
The local MP, Gavin Newlands, has asked all locals no matter their opinion, to stay away from the protest on Sunday and that he "despises" the words and actions of PA.
He said: “I utterly despise and condemn the words and actions of far-right groups who have latched on to this issue and sought to use it for their own racist and xenophobic ends.
“I urge all locals, no matter their opinion on the situation, to please stay away from their protest. Being associated with these thugs will undermine any legitimate concerns they have."
Newlands added: “While I completely understand some of the concerns being raised around the pressure on public services locally, I equally want to be clear that some of the wilder accusations and assertions being spread on social media are baseless and, in many cases, simply offensive."
The local organisers originally thought PA was offering assistance as simply “experienced protesters” and after media highlighted PA's previous campaigns, the Erskine local campaign organiser, Derek Stitt, said locals had decided to cut ties with group.
Stitt said: “We are going to cut any ties with Patriotic Alternative that might have been forming. We thought the idea of having experienced protesters would help but our protest is a community one. We don’t want any trouble or violence or sending out political messages.
“We just want some answers from our government, local authorities, Mears and, the hotel itself as we have been completely left in the dark. We’re never consulted and still none the wiser to who exactly we have staying in the hotel.”
Erskine locals say their campaign is focused on concern for the town’s ability to cope with the asylum seekers and the lack of consultation.
Posting on the group, one organiser wrote that the reason for the group is “to vent our concerns and our anger at being completely left in the dark” by the hotel and local government.
Newlands argued that many of the concerns raised by local constituents regarding the Home Office's decision to house asylum seekers at the hotel are as a result of a lack of meaningful engagement with the Erskine community.
He told The National that he and his SNP colleague, Natalie Don MSP, have written directly to the Home Secretary seeking clarity on several points which remain unclear.
Newlands said: “The lack of effective communication, consultation, and early engagement with the local community has resulted in an information vacuum. This vacuum has allowed those who sow fear and discontent to then fill that void with hatred and fake news, which only serves to ramp up anxiety."
Far-right supporters from across the UK are reported to attend on Sunday, and SUTR are encouraging all who are against racist division to join them in sending a positive anti-racist message.
Most of those housed in the hotel will be men aged between 18 and 40, the majority of whom have arrived from the Middle East. Approximately 20 men will arrive at the hotel per week until the 174-bed capacity is reached. One local reporter said some have started to arrive already.
The men will have access to English language classes in the hotel and be able to take part in voluntary work to assist in integration to the local community.
A spokesperson for the Hope Not Hate anti-fascist group said: “Patriotic Alternative have admitted that they’re keen to 'jump on local issues' because their true agenda of racism and extremism is one that has no appeal outside of a small fringe of online cranks.
“Anyone who attends this demonstration will rub shoulders with violent extremists and racists and then be used for that group’s propaganda.”
PA wants all non-white people removed from the UK, and was set up in 2019 by Mark Collett, formerly head of publicity for the British National Party (BNP). Smith himself is a former candidate of the BNP.
A Ferret investigation in early 2021, outed members of PA as neo-Nazis, former members of the BNP and Scottish Defence League (SDL).
