Shocking figures have revealed a rising tide of racist crime in Scotland. Police recorded 6439 racist crimes last year – that’s 18 a day. The figure was up sharply from 5732 the previous year and 4556 in 2004. More than half of all the victims were of Asian origin. Offences ranged from “racially aggravated conduct” – usually verbal abuse – to vandalism, fire-raising and serious assault. The figures were set out in the first Scotland-wide report into racist crime, published by the Executive.
Bashir Mann, president of the Muslim Council in Scotland, said: “I think racism is on the increase in this country and in the UK as a whole. There has been a rise in Islamophobia and this has been aggravated by the anti-terrorism legislation introduced by the Government.”