Police say Glasgow tenement fire was started deliberately as Swinney condemns those acting on migrant rumours
Police have confirmed the fire in a tenement undergoing a revamp was started deliberately
Police have confirmed a fire at a Glasgow tenement was started deliberately after John Swinney said “all the force of the law” would be applied to those acting on rumours the building was to be used to house asylum seekers.
Online speculation suggested the building, on Stonyhurst Street in the Possilpark area of the city, was being refurbished to house asylum seekers but it was later confirmed the flats were to be used to ease the city’s housing woes.
Local Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said he was part of a group of elected representatives who secured funding for the formerly derelict building with properties to be given to those on the waiting list of NG Homes.
Fire crews battled for two days to control the extensive fire, which was started on Sunday afternoon.
Police Scotland revealed on Monday afternoon that the blaze was being treated as wilful fireraising as they launched an appeal for witnesses and information also asking local people to check CCTV and drivers to check dashcam footage.
Detective Inspector Neil Martin said: “This kind of reckless activity is not acceptable and caused serious disruption in the area”.
Speaking in Glasgow on Monday, before police announced that the blaze was wilful, the First Minister said: “There will have to be a full investigation by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
“But I am familiar with the information that’s been circulating about the suggestion that this could have been wilful fireraising, because of concern that the accommodation was to host migrants.
“Now, whether that’s the case or not, it is completely and utterly unacceptable, because wilful fireraising is a criminal offence in our society.
“Those involved should be apprehended, whatever the circumstances and whether this accommodation was to be used to house migrants or not, this type of behaviour is completely and utterly unacceptable and it must be addressed.”
He added: “What we’ve got to face here is that if this type of information has been circulated, behaviour of this type is being perpetrated, people have to understand if they’re going to be involved in racist activity, which is involving potentially wilful fireraising and any other threats to community safety, then all of the force of the law will be applied against them, because that behaviour is unacceptable in our society.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, will have my strongest support in making sure those responsible, if that is the circumstances, will be apprehended.”
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The incident was reported to the emergency services around 4.50pm on Sunday, September 6.
“The fire was put out by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. No one was injured.”
DI Martin said: “The fire is being treated as wilful and we are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious around the time of the incident to get in touch.
“Fortunately no one was injured but this kind of reckless activity is not acceptable and caused serious disruption in the area.
“Please also check any private CCTV that you have and let us know if something has been captured that could assist with our investigation. Likewise, if you were driving in the area check dash-cam and call us if you have footage that could assist.”
In a post on Facebook, Mr Sweeney MSP suggested rumours about the housing being used for asylum seekers had led to the fire.
“After 20 years of these tenements sitting derelict, finally, after much work by myself and other elected representatives, we secured nearly £3 million in government investment to bring these tenements back, renovate them, so they can be used for the community in a city with a housing emergency,” he wrote.
“This block here will be used for housing those on the NG Homes housing waiting list, which is massively oversubscribed.
“It was never going to illegal immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers – it was never intended for that purpose at all.
“So, anyone claiming that was spreading lies, misinformation, to generate clicks on social media, to whip up the community, wind people up and this is the upshot of it – we’ve got potential massive multi-million-pound investment being destroyed in the midst of a socially-deprived community like this one in Possilpark, outrageous after so much effort.”
Housing association NG Homes, which owns the building, had previously spoken out to dismiss claims that the building was being used to host asylum seekers, as rumours spiralled in the weeks leading up to the blaze.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware that disinformation has circulated regarding the future use of the homes and would once again stress that these claims are false.
“The buildings are being refurbished to provide much-needed affordable homes and, as we have previously stated, these properties will be allocated in line with our allocations policy and Scottish housing legislation from our existing housing list.
“As a registered social landlord, we do not allocate housing to people who are not legally eligible for it, and all applications are assessed in accordance with the relevant legal requirements.”
The spokesperson added: “Our focus remains on supporting the investigation and progressing the delivery of these much-needed homes for the Possilpark community as quickly as possible.”
The statement said that the extent of the damage to the tenement block was still being assessed, and that it was too early to confirm the impact of the fire on the refurbishment.
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