Five men were injured in the attacks; three were hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries
Scottish police said on Sunday they had charged a 36-year-old man after a series of attacks in Edinburgh on Friday. which Prime Minister Keir Starmer said appeared to have an anti-Muslim motive.
Five men sustained injuries in the attacks and three required hospital treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, police had previously said.
Videos on social media showed a half-naked, tattooed, white man who appeared to be carrying a large weapon chasing an Asian man. then attempting to break his way into a restaurant, before later being handcuffed on the ground by police.
TheBBCreported. the attacks appeared to have begun near a mosque in the west of the Scottish capital before continuing at other locations in the city.
🚨 BREAKING: A 36-year-old white Scottish man is being investigated by Counter Terrorism Police after five people were stabbed in EdinburghHe said after his arrest: "I'm protecting the country from these fucking Muslim bastards raping our young daughters"pic.twitter.com/ssrecw0hgi
In a brief written statement on Sunday morning, Scotland Police said a 36-year-old man had been charged. a report submitted to prosecutors, and that the man would appear in court in due course.
In a post on social media on Saturday, Starmer said the attacker "appears to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred".
Absolutely appalling.No one should face violence on our streets. The suspect appears to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. I will not tolerate this - he will face the full force of the law.My thoughts are with those who are injured. I thank the police and the emergency…
That view was shared by the Muslim Council of Britain. which said the incident was "a direct consequence of political rhetoric that demonises entire communities".
Read More:Scotland probes anti-Muslim 'attacks'
The Scottish Association of Mosques also blamed "language that portrays migrants, refugees. Muslims as threats to be feared rather than people to be understood".
Northern Ireland suffered two days of anti-immigrant rioting earlier this month. which the British government described as"racist thuggery", following a knife attack for which a Sudanese man was charged with attempted murder.
Nigel Farage. leader of the populist Reform UK party that tops British opinion polls, regularly criticises the government for failing to stop small boats that brought 41,000 immigrants across the Channel last year.
Rupert Lowe. who broke with Reform to set up the smaller Restore Britain party, focuses heavily on organised child sexual abuse which he says is largely carried out by Muslim men of Pakistani heritage.
Last year, the government told police torecord the ethnicityof gangs involved in this type of abuse after a report detailed state failures to tackle the issue. a reluctance to recognise an "over-representation" of Asian men.
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see ourComments FAQ
Discussion
Sign in to join the thread, react, and share images.