JOHN Swinney has hit out at “unhelpful speculation” after a woman was stabbed in a Scottish city.
Police Scotland confirmed that a man has been arrested after the attack in Stirling, which happened on Saturday at around 8.20pm.
The woman, aged 21, suffered a “non-life threatening” stab injury and was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital for treatment.
The alleged attacker, 29, was described by police as white and local to the area – a step not usually taken – after false speculation spread on social media about the incident.
Among the false claims was a post by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, who posted on Twitter/X on Saturday night that an “alleged Muslim” had just been involved in the stabbing of “at least three women” in Stirling.
The tweet received over 1 million impressions and has led to further disinformation spread about the incident by other accounts throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Now, the First Minister has addressed the incident.
Writing on Twitter/X (below), he said: “This is a serious incident and my thoughts are with the victim. This is an isolated incident and I have been advised there is no wider threat to the public. I would encourage everyone to refrain from unhelpful speculation on social media.
This is a serious incident and my thoughts are with the victim. This is an isolated incident and I have been advised there is no wider threat to the public. I would encourage everyone to refrain from unhelpful speculation on social media. https://t.co/dKP3hSnh41
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) August 4, 2024
The post by Robinson and subsequent spread of false information comes as dozens of arrests were made following scenes of disorder in England and Northern Ireland on Saturday, with police warning that further violence is likely in the coming days.
Multiple towns and cities saw clashes between far-right, anti-immigration demonstrators and counter-protesters, with police officers attacked and injured, and many more arrests promised.
The string of violent incidents over the past few days began on Tuesday in Southport, after three girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club. This led to a similar spread of far-right disinformation and a riot that injured 53 police officers.
