Police probe deliberate fire at Glasgow tenement amid asylum seeker rumours

Police are investigating a deliberate fire at a housing association tenement in Glasgow that had previously been targeted by anti-immigration protesters.

The building in Stonyhurst Street, Possilpark - which has been derelict for 20 years - had received £3m to be renovated as affordable homes.

Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney claimed there was evidence the blaze was started on Sunday following online "disinformation" that the flats would be used for asylum seekers.

Housing association NG Homes, which owns the block, said these were false rumours and the flats would provide "much-needed" homes for people on its waiting list.

Police Scotland said the fire broke out in a fourth floor flat at about 16:50 on Sunday.

Det Insp Neil Martin urged anyone who saw anything suspicious 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," he added.

NG Homes said the damage was still being assessed and it was too early to confirm the impact on the renovation timescales.

Images of the fire, with flames seen shooting from the roof, have been circulated by right wing social media accounts describing them as "migrant apartments".

In a post on social media, Sweeney said it was "outrageous" that a refurbished building risked being destroyed by fire in a "socially-deprived community".

He said: "We secured nearly £3m in government investment to bring these tenements back and renovate them, so they can be used for the community in a city with a housing emergency.

"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."

Sweeney later told BBC Scotland Radio's Lunchtime Live programme: "Obviously the police and the fire service have to conduct official investigations but, from conversations I had on the street, there were witnesses who said they had seen someone scaling the scaffolding and then a fire materialised on the roof soon afterwards."

Sweeney believes the scaffolding had only been up a few days so the building work had not yet started.

The building was the focus of protests in July, which he said had been "whipped up by local Facebook groups, speculating about the building being used for asylum seeker accommodation."

This had "provoked a significant picket and protest at the site", he added.

He called for clear communication so that "these conspiracy theorists and malicious actors, particularly from the far right who have got a political agenda to whip this stuff up, are countered effectively".

First Minister John Swinney told BBC Scotland News he had "seen the rumours" circulating about the potential use of the flats for migrant accommodation.

He said anyone involved in setting the building on fire would be apprehended.

"It is completely and utterly unacceptable for any accommodation in any part of Scotland housing anybody to be targeted," he added.

Glasgow City Council said that, working with NG Homes, more than 3,500 empty homes had been brought back to "productive use" in recent years.

It said grant funding for refurbishment came through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Ruairi Kelly, Glasgow City Council's convener for housing and development, posted: "If this was a deliberate arson attack, then all that these thugs and criminals have achieved is to extend the wait that local people will now have for the house moves they desperately need."

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said six fire engines and specialist resources had been sent to the blaze on Sunday.

The last appliance left the scene shortly before 14:00 on Monday.

NG Homes was in the process of refurbishing and upgrading a number of buildings on the street.

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.

"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."