Alleged anti-Muslim attacks are 'intolerance wake-up call' - Swinney

The first minister has said a series of alleged anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh should be a "wake-up call" to Scotland over intolerance towards others.

John Swinney said he was "terrified" the incidents, which left five men injured in the north and west of the city on Friday, were the product of intolerance being "legitimised".

He accused Reform MSPs at the Scottish Parliament of using language which had caused "division" among communities. Reform said the attacks should not be "conflated" with a "genuine debate around mass migration".

A 36-year-old man was due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in connection with the attacks on Monday.

Two men were taken to hospital after being stabbed "multiple times" following Asr prayers at Broomhouse Mosque on Friday evening.

A further three people were attacked on Leith Walk, while a taxi and a petrol station were also targeted.

Police Scotland said an investigation led by counter-terror officers was ongoing.

Swinney said two of the alleged victims of the attacks had been left "deeply traumatised" and "seriously injured" after meeting them in private at the mosque on Monday afternoon.

He described the incidents as "isolated" and insisted communities across Scotland could feel safe.

However, he said there was a link between language used by some at Holyrood and growing division in Scottish society.

"I have been calling out some of the language that has been used politically, most recently by the new Reform MSPs that have come into the Scottish Parliament," he said.

"I make no apology for doing so because I have been terrified that this is the type of stuff that comes from the legitimising of intolerance and division in our society and that's what I've been calling out.

"If parliament is hearing voices talking about intolerance and division within our communities, don't be surprised if that then manifests itself in our communities."

Reform's deputy leader, Thomas Kerr, described the attacks as "disgraceful" adding there was no place for "racism and violence".

However, he accused Swinney of treating the Scottish public with "contempt" by linking the incidents with the party's rise.

He said: "Conflating the acts of a madman with a genuine debate around mass migration is treating the public in a shocking and contemptuous manner."

"I and Reform will not apologise for standing up for working-class communities who feel they have been ignored by the entire political establishment."

Police Scotland said they had spoken to more than 90 multi-faith organisations across Edinburgh in the wake of the incidents.

Affected businesses have also been contacted by officers.

Supt Neil Wilson, of Police Scotland's Edinburgh division, said he understood concern among some communities had been "heightened" by the attacks.

He added: "We recognise the concerns felt within all communities, including those who experienced and witnessed these horrific attacks.

"It is important that all communities across Scotland feel supported, protected and able to go about their daily lives without fear of hatred or intimidation.

"I would urge everyone to continue to work together and ensure no person or group in Scotland feels marginalised or isolated. Our message is clear - there is no place for violence, hatred, or intimidation in our communities."

The attacks began near Broomhouse Mosque in the west of Edinburgh at about 20:30 on Friday.

Two 22-year-old men, understood to have recently left Asr prayer, were stabbed multiple times at Sighthill Park and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment.

A taxi was then vandalised at a Shell garage on Telford Road, about five miles away, at 21:15, leaving it with broken windows.

An image from the scene appered to show a hatchet with a yellow and black handle lying among a shower of broken glass in the back seat.

CCTV footage showing a man standing beside a black vehicle with its window smashed at a BP garage on Ferry Road was recorded at 21:28.

The video shows the man entering the kiosk before overturning shelves and leaving products scattered across the floor.

Further footage, obtained by BBC Scotland, shows a bare-chested man carrying two large weapons parking partially across a bike lane on Leith Walk a few minutes later.

In that instance, he leaves the vehicle before chasing a man on an e-bike.

He then returns to the car but quickly emerges again and runs towards a man who has stepped off a tram before repeatedly striking him with two large knives.

The man runs away, at which point the bare-chested man stops chasing him and instead turns towards a pizzeria, striking the door several times before the restaurant brings down electronic shutters.

The man then walks back onto Leith Walk and attacks a delivery driver on an e-bike, who falls off his vehicle.

Police arrive on scene shortly afterwards and detain a man about five minutes after he first pulled up in the street.

Police Scotland said they had responded to a "fast-moving sequence of events" after being contacted at about 20:50 on Friday.

In one video, an officer can be seen holding the man on the ground, who then swears and shouts that he was "protecting the country".

Police said none of the injuries sustained was life-threatening.

The other injured men were aged 24, 27 and 39.