Two Arrests in Greenock as UK Unrest Spreads After Belfast Attack

Two men have been arrested and three police officers injured during a protest outside a hotel in Greenock used to house asylum seekers, the latest episode in unrest that has spread across the UK since a knife attack in Belfast on Monday night. Police Scotland said two police vehicles were damaged as items were thrown at officers near the Holiday Inn Express on Wednesday evening, and the arrested men were issued with fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour offences.

The Greenock confrontation followed the same shape as Tuesday’s disorder in Glasgow city centre, came on the same night police in Northern Ireland fired baton rounds and deployed a water cannon for a second night running, and traces back to a single Monday night stabbing in north Belfast for which a 30-year-old Sudanese man appeared in court on Wednesday. The victim’s own family has asked for the violence to stop, the BBC reported, saying they did not want the “terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.” The Police Service of Northern Ireland has said it expects to be out in “significant” numbers on Thursday night with 200 mutual aid officers arriving from across Great Britain.

Three Officers Injured at the Holiday Inn Express

Demonstrators gathered outside the Holiday Inn Express in Greenock on Wednesday evening, where Police Scotland said items were thrown and two police vehicles damaged. Three officers were injured, and two men were arrested and issued with fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour offences. Further inquiries are ongoing, the force said in a statement.

Ch Supt Rhona Fraser, the local commander, said Police Scotland had put an “appropriate policing plan” in place. “Officers were attacked and police vehicles were damaged,” she said. “I strongly condemn that violence and there is no place for it in Scotland.” Officers remained in the area on Thursday, engaged with communities to show support and listen to concerns.

The Church of Scotland’s most senior figure had already, in a Christmas message, described the scenes at a similar protest in Falkirk as “hate filled and a source of shame for the nation.” A separate Church of Scotland warning on Glasgow asylum evictions had framed the wider accommodation debate as a “moral and legal battle.”

Hundreds in Masks Through Glasgow’s Streets

The Greenock protest followed the same playbook as Tuesday’s disorder in Glasgow. Hundreds of people wearing masks marched through the city centre carrying banners and Union flags. Police Scotland said five people were injured, including two officers, and closed a number of streets and bridges to divert the crowd. Three men, two aged 18 and one aged 31, have since been arrested and charged in connection with various offences.

Officers responded to disorder and violence, including incidents in Glasgow where members of the public were attacked because of the colour of their skin. Officers were also attacked. I would strongly condemn that offending and send a clear message that there is no place for racism and violence in Scotland.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell, the senior officer who briefed on the Glasgow night, gave that statement to reporters. Shopkeeper Javed Iqbal, who owns a St Enoch corner shop in the city centre, said police advised staff to close early after masked men banged on the windows shortly before 22:30. “It was safety first, the main thing is safety, for my staff and for the shop,” he told the full report on the Greenock and Glasgow disorder. “We should all be able to live together. Forget about the colour, forget about the race.”

On the same Tuesday evening, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he had phoned Glasgow’s Central Mosque and urged staff to shut the doors for safety. The St Enoch shopping centre’s security team responded to “a number of individuals” who entered the building. Smaller, peaceful demonstrations were held the same evening in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Perth, Ayr and Paisley, with no arrests at any of them, Police Scotland said.

The Belfast Knife Attack That Lit the Fuse

The Glasgow and Greenock protests trace back to a single attack in north Belfast on Monday night. A 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie, who is in his 40s. Alodid has an address in Duncairn Avenue, north Belfast, the court heard. He appeared via video link from Musgrave police station and communicated through an Arabic interpreter.

The court was told that Ogilvie has lost his left eye and has damage to his right eye. He also has injuries to his neck and back. Alodid is also charged with possession of a knife in a public place and threats to kill an NHS worker.

A police officer told the court that, when brought to hospital for injuries to his hand, Alodid allegedly threatened to kill a hospital radiographer and said: “I killed someone, I don’t know if they’re dead.” The Home Office said Alodid entered the UK in 2023 and was given refugee status. A courtroom account of the hearing said he came via the Common Travel Area, an open-border zone covering the UK and Ireland. Judge Steven Keown refused bail on Wednesday, calling the risks “far too great and unmanageable with any bail conditions”; Alodid was remanded into custody to appear again on 8 July.

Water Cannon, Petrol Bombs, Two Nights in Belfast

The violence in Northern Ireland has now run for two consecutive nights. On Tuesday, houses, cars and a bus were set on fire, all public transport in Belfast was suspended, and families with babies as young as two months old had to be rescued from the streets, the New York Post reported. PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told reporters the previous night that two officers had been injured, calling the protests an “act of self-harm.”

On Wednesday, the PSNI said, rioting in Belfast, Glengormley and Portadown left 12 police officers injured and 16 people arrested, with 20 AEP fired and a water cannon deployed at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Glengormley, about eight miles north-west of the city centre. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson named the perpetrators on Thursday. “This violent behaviour, by a thuggish minority, will not be tolerated,” he said. “We used water cannon and fired 20 AEP to quell that disorder. We arrested 16 people, with two already charged, and 12 officers were injured, some by petrol bombs, following significant rioting.”

The PSNI mapped the night’s disorder across four locations:

• Belfast (West Circular Road): 20 masked males blocked the road; missiles thrown at police.
• Glengormley (Antrim Road): Police came under sustained attack with flares and masonry; a hijacked van was pushed towards officers; a bin lorry, car and a vacant building were set alight; seven arrests.
• Portadown (Carleton Street): A property was attacked around 21:00, with disorder lasting several hours; five arrests; one officer injured.
• Derry/Londonderry (Tullyalley Road): Bins were used to block the road, with damage to a police vehicle.

Mutual Aid: 200 Extra Officers Headed North

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has formally requested support from forces across Great Britain. The Policing Board was told on Thursday that 200 mutual aid officers will be on the ground from that day, providing “additional resilience, capacity and visibility in the community.” Police Scotland is expected to send about 90 of those officers under the mutual aid agreement, the Scottish Police Federation said, a contingent that will include five inspectors. Police Scotland would not confirm numbers but said the agreement was reached “to ensure there is no impact to policing in Scotland.”

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn confirmed the wider UK deployment on Wednesday. The 200 extra officers, he said, are being sent “to help restore order and protect ethnic minorities who are being targeted.” PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher had earlier called the protests an “act of self-harm.”

First Minister Michelle O’Neill put the response in starker terms. “Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she said, branding the violence “outright thuggery.”

Politicians Condemn, the Family Pleads for Calm

The condemnation has been uniform in language and varied in pressure point. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Belfast scenes were “shocking and completely unacceptable,” adding: “It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it. Those responsible will feel the full force of the law.” Justice Secretary Neil Gray praised Police Scotland for its response and said specialist public order officers were on stand-by for any further disruption. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told BBC Scotland there was a place for protest but not disorder, violence and racism.

Scotland is a welcoming nation and those who choose to make their lives here are valued members of our communities. No one should be made to feel scared in a place they call home, and the actions of those involved do not reflect Scotland’s values.

First Minister John Swinney, briefing in Edinburgh, gave that statement as his official response to the Glasgow disorder. The Ogilvie family has been the only sustained voice asking the streets to fall quiet. “The family of the victim said they did not want this ‘terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility’,” the BBC reported.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said the DUP’s response, including calls to revisit the Irish border, was “bunkum, distraction, deflection” and “very ill-intended.” Hanna warned that “if you go on and on and on by what your English nationalist friends say, there’s only one place that border can end up.” Reform UK MSP Thomas Kerr had earlier called for people to “go out and protest” peacefully against “uncontrolled illegal migration,” with Sarwar branding the comments “deeply irresponsible.”

The Cost Lands Far From the Headlines

The price of the unrest is being paid in places the front pages do not name. In Glasgow, the St Enoch shopping centre’s security team responded to “a number of individuals” who entered the building on Tuesday evening. In Belfast, a nurse described by her union as having a “different skin colour” was chased by four masked men into the Ulster Hospital on Thursday, the live blog of the disorder reported. On Wednesday night in Portadown, a rioter set himself on fire while trying to throw a petrol bomb, the same outlet said.

Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney called the Glasgow incidents “brazen racist thuggery.” Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said criminal behaviour must be met with the “full force of the law.” Justice Secretary Neil Gray praised Police Scotland for its response and said specialist public order officers were on stand-by for any further disruption. Findlay added: “Everyone has the right to protest, but there can be no excuse for violence and intimidation on Scotland’s streets.”

The PSNI’s Henderson closed his Thursday briefing by appealing to the Ogilvie family. “We should all listen to the words of the Ogilvie family,” he said, “they could not be more clear that violence is not in Stephen’s name.”