Attacks outside city mosque 'a direct consequence of political rhetoric'
Plus: North Edinburgh tram route opposition and new hotel planned by the zoo
Counter terrorism police investigate as community leaders say attacks ‘must be wake-up call’
Community and faith leaders have expressed their “profound alarm” after a man was charged in connection with a series of attacks on young Muslim men in the capital.
Five men were injured, with three being treated in hospital, after a man was seen walking topless and waving a machete-style knife in streets across the west and north of the city.
A 36-year-old man has been charged in connection with the attacks and is due to appear in court.
Footage circulating on social media appears to show a man shouting “I’m protecting the country” and anti-Muslim messages as he is pinned to the ground by police officers.
The Prime Minister, First Minister and city council leader Jane Meagher are among those to express their horror at the attacks which are being investigated by counter terrorism police.
Community leaders warned of rising numbers of anti-Muslim incidents across Scotland and directly linked the Edinburgh attacks to political rhetoric “demonising entire communities”.
What happened: Police were initially called to reports of two young men being attacked in a park after leaving prayers at Broomhouse Mosque around on 8.50pm on Friday. That was followed by a series of calls from across the city, including a Deliveroo rider being reportedly stabbed in Telford Road. Another two men were injured in Leith Walk, where business premises were also attacked, including the Origano Cafe and Pizzeria having its windows smashed, before a man was arrested at around 9.30pm.
The victims: Five men - two aged 22 and others aged 24, 27 and 39 - suffered a range of non-life threatening injuries. Three were being treated in hospital yesterday where their condition was described as stable. The Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) organisation said several of those injured were Muslim.
‘Wake-up call’: Omar Afzal, director of public affairs for the Scottish Association of Mosques, said Muslims across Scotland were experiencing “growing levels of hostility in their everyday lives”. This, coupled with the attacks in Edinburgh, “should serve as a wake-up call”, and highlighted the need for a national strategy to tackle anti-Muslim hatred, he said.
“These latest attacks are deeply disturbing,” he added. “However, they do not exist in a vacuum. For years, Muslim communities have warned about the consequences of anti-Muslim hatred becoming normalised in public discourse. When prejudice is left unchallenged, it creates an environment in which some individuals feel emboldened to act on that hatred. What we are witnessing is targeted hatred spilling over into criminal violence at a time when anti-migrant and anti-Muslim mobilisation is being openly promoted online.”
The Muslim Council of Britain added: “This incident comes not long after racist pogroms on the streets of Belfast that targeted minority families, and is a direct consequence of political rhetoric that demonises entire communities”.
Crime stats: Police Scotland do not routinely publish figures relating to specifically anti-Muslim offences. However, the latest official figures show a rise in overall hate crime in Edinburgh, from 18 per 10,000 population in 2023/24 to 25 per 10,000 population in 2024/25.
Political and religious leaders respond: Kier Starmer and John Swinney have led widespread political condemnation of the attacks, saying there is no place for racism or intolerance in the country. City council leader Jane Meagher, Police Scotland, Kirk Moderator the Right Rev Gordon Kennedy and Timothy Lovat, Chair of the Jewish Council of Scotland, have expressed similar views.
Witness appeal: Specialist counter-terrorism officers are working with Police Scotland to establish the full circumstances surrounding the attacks. Police Scotland is asking anyone with information which might help the investigation to fill out the online form here: https://orlo.uk/JD1a6
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
MILLION POUND MAN: If you’re looking for a football fairy tale this week, then we have one for you. Eighteen months ago Barney Stewart was playing for Heriot-Watt University in the East of Scotland League. The 22-year-old has just signed for English Championship side West Bromwich Albion for a reported £1.3 million transfer fee.
TRAM OPPOSITION: The northern section of the city’s proposed £2.9bn tram line - the section running between the city centre and Granton - is looking unlikely to get council approval in September. With the final business case yet to be published (and with city council elections due in May), political parties are lining up against the proposed routes. The SNP has voiced its opposition to both the Roseburn Path and Dean Bridge options, the Lib Dems are against the Roseburn Path route and the Conservatives are expected to oppose the extension altogether. The composition of the council means the northern section at least is unlikely to win council backing at this stage. The project also relies on securing Scottish Government funding.
ZOO HOTEL: The former Forestry Commission headquarters opposite Edinburgh Zoo would be turned into a 235-bedroom hotel under plans submitted to the city council. Zunikh Silvan House Limited wants to convert the five-story Silvan House office block on Corstorphine Road into a hotel including a bar, restaurant and events space.
CAR MURDER BID: A man who used his car as a weapon and deliberately drove into another man twice has been jailed for six years and eight months. The victim, Michael McKenzie, was attacked after intervening when he thought Lewis Burns was hitting a woman in the street. He suffered broken bones in the attack on Lochend Drive in February. Burns was jailed after admitting attempted murder.
SERVICED APARTMENTS: An office block at 125 McDonald Road is to be turned into 14 one-bedroom serviced apartments after plans lodged by Tri Scotland Ltd were approved by city councillors.
SURFING IRELAND: Irish Surfing has chosen the Lost Shore Resort at Balerno as its national performance centre and the training base for their prospective Olympic team.
LORRY CRASH ARRESTS: Four men have been arrested after a skip lorry was driven into the side of a house in Brand Drive, Portobello. The men, aged between 24 and 41, were arrested during raids on properties in Kilmarnock and Darvel. At the time of the incident in May, it was linked to the ongoing crime gang violence in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
FLIP OUT: A venue billed as the UK’s biggest indoor adventure park is set to open in time for the school summer holidays at the Livingston Designer Outlet. Flip Out is the size of a large supermarket and features trampolines, Ninja Tag, inflatables, soft play, a roller rink, arcade games, party rooms and an on-site diner.
RAISING THE ROOF: The Umbrella Festival has smashed its £50,000 fundraising target by collecting nearly £100,000 towards essential repairs to the roof of Morningside Parish Church.
OPEN ARCHIVE: The Lavender Menace Queer Book archive has secured its immediate future by raising the £33,750 needed to keep its doors open. You can read more about the project in Emma Newland’s long read Keeping alive the spirt of Edinburgh’s pioneering queer bookshop.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
BID on track in Old Town
Old Town businesses driving forward proposals for a Business Improvement District for the area are to meet later this week to discuss next steps after being encouraged by an initial consultation poll that drew responses from around 120 local traders.
Kat Brogan, of Mercat Tours, is one of those on the BID steering group. She told the Inquirer that next steps are likely to include seeking Scottish Government funding, via the Scottish Towns Partnership, for the funding required to carry out a more formal consultation on creating a local BID.
She told the Inquirer: “Our poll was a non-binding testing of the appetite for a BID for the area, and we were encouraged that more people supported the idea (50%) than were against it (42%), with a small number undecided. And that was without any business case being put forward in support of a BID.
“Main areas of concern for businesses who would like to see a BID were better security and safety and improved cleanliness – things that they know are being driven by the BID in the New Town side of the city centre.
“The steering group, which is made up of businesses from the area, will now meet this week to talk through next steps which will include access to funding to carry out a more meaningful and formal consultation as part of the process.”
She stressed that at each stage the Steering Group is determined to take a professional, inclusive and transparent approach to this project. “The aim from the outset is to communicate regularly and clearly, consult fully and, as far as possible, reach consensus at each step of the process.”
Further consultation will go into the issues raised by businesses supporting the BID and those opposed to it at this stage, before creating a business plan that would clearly set out what a BID could deliver.
A BID is a business-funded partnerships that allow local businesses to invest collectively in any services, improvements, and projects they want to see beyond those provided by local government, and to speak with a single voice to the council and other decision-makers.
CARE LAUNCH: Caremark has launched its first Scottish care-at-home franchise in Edinburgh. The company aims to provide personalised care for adults who need support to continue living safely in their own homes and will support both private clients and NHS referrals.
FORT PLANS: A major expansion at retail and leisure park Fort Kinnaird is set to create more than 60 new jobs if plans are approved. An application has been submitted for more than 42,500 sq ft of new retail and leisure space, creating a new food store of c.19,750 sq ft on the ground floor, alongside c.22,785 sq ft of leisure space on the first floor.
BUSINESS RESILIENCE: Scottish businesses are showing resilience in response to global uncertainty, with 84% saying they are confident in their ability to withstand economic shocks, according to new findings from the Bank of Scotland Business Barometer. Three fifths (60%) of Scottish businesses say they have been impacted by recent global uncertainty, with 65% citing rising costs and 33% citing supply chain disruption as the main consequences. Despite this, over half (51%) of firms said they still expect to grow this year.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
PICTURE THIS: The largest ever exhibition of the work of pioneering photographer and community activist Sandra George opens at the City Art Centre on Saturday, until 27 September. Start from the Level showcases more than 20 years of photographs taken in Craigmillar and other Edinburgh communities, exploring themes of identity, activism, motherhood, belonging, and social justice. The exhibition is being staged in partnership with the Craigmillar Now arts and heritage centre and is part of the Edinburgh Art Festival.
ECO FEST: Edinburgh Climate Festival returns to the Meadows on Saturday with a wide range of free activities for children and adults, including live music, stalls and inspiration for a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle.
FLEA MARKET: The Out of the Blue Drill Hall’s popular Flea Market is back on Saturday (10am – 3pm) with its usual mix of more than 40 stalls selling pre-loved clothes, jewellery, antiques, books, bric-a-brac and other collectibles.
QUICK BITES
MEX-MALAYSIAN FUSION: TV chef Julie Lin has opened Tacos Lah at Bonnie & Wild at Edinburgh’s St James Quarter. The Scottish chef is bringing together the food cultures of Malaysia and Mexico. Lin, a regular on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, said her new concept was a fusion of “two food cultures united by a shared love of bold flavours.”
CHANGE BY NICO: Nico Simeone, chef owner of the Six by Nico in Queensferry Street, is opening his new concept Lennox at the venue next month. Lennox is a more personal expression of his cooking and represents a move away from his themed six-weekly changing tasting menu concept.