A RISING CLIMATE OF FEAR

City takes no chances as law and refugee offices close doors | FM, unions and anti-racists unite to slam far-right thuggery

- MARK MCGIVERN and EVE BEATTIE

FEARS of major disorder in Scotland's biggest city led to organisations closing their doors and staff working from home yesterday.

The rising tide of extremism elsewhere in the UK resulted in rumours of a major right-wing demo hitting Glasgow city centre yesterday.

The dread of being attacked by racist thugs led to many staying well clear of George Square, which had been wrongly pinpointed on social media for a far-right gathering.

Bosses at one group who cancelled a training event said: "The safety of our members is our number one priority.

Some organisations that help asylum seekers in the city called an emergency closure, fearing they could become the focus of the kind of brick-throwing, fire-raising yobs that have terrorised English cities in recent days.

The fear of a flashpoint still hangs over several towns and cities, with anti-racist groups identifying Paisley this weekend as the most likely gathering point for fascist thugs.

Other gatherings by obscure right wing groups have been organised for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Ethnic Minority Law Centre and the Scottish Refugee Council were among those to close their Glasgow offices. A spokesperson for the former said: "For the safety of our staff and our clients we have closed the office due to the ongoing issues of protests and potential planned attacks, especially as we are a charity law firm assisting many vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers.