AN EXTREME right-wing group will be cut from attempting to assist in organising a mass protest against asylum seekers being placed into an Erskine hotel.
The group, Patriotic Alternative (PA), is reported to have attempted to “hijack” a local Facebook group set up by residents of Erskine, and plans to attend a mass protest outside the hotel on Sunday. Far-right supporters from across the UK are planning to attend.
Almost 200 asylum seekers are going to be housed in the MGM Muthu Glasgow River Hotel. Local campaigners rallying against the plans were notified of the group’s extremist history on Tuesday morning and swiftly announced they would "cut ties".
The organisers originally thought PA was offering assistance as simply “experienced protesters”.
The Erskine Against Asylum Hotel group was set up on Facebook on Thursday 26 and membership has risen to 600 accounts.
On Monday night, Patriotic Alternative Scotland organiser Kenny Smith posted onto the page.
He said: “We have had success in Yorkshire and Wales already preventing the swamping of vulnerable communities with hundreds of young migrant men.
“The world is a better place for the diversity of identity, culture, and heritage, but we are being swamped and over run.
“Patriotic Alternative are not here to hijack or piggyback onto any local campaign. We will oppose this plan because it is the right thing to do.”
Smith added: “We have banners, a platform, load speaker and leaflets already sorted.”
However, Smith failed to mention that PA wants all non-white people removed from the UK, and was set up in 2019 by Mark Collett, formerly head of publicity for the British National Party (BNP). Smith himself is a former candidate of the BNP.
A Ferret investigation in early 2021, outed members of PA as neo-Nazis, former members of the BNP and Scottish Defence League (SDL).
More than 20 members of the group climbed Ben Nevis in August 2021 and unfurled a huge White Lives Matter banner.
There was a competition on PA’s website, where members in nine different regions were supposedly competing against each other for the best photograph or picture they can come up with.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford hit out at the group at the time after the images emerged and said “these racists are not welcome here”.
After media highlighted PA's previous campaigns, the Erskine local campaign organiser, Derek Stitt, said locals had decided to cut ties with group.
He said: “We are going to cut any ties with Patriotic Alternative that might have been forming.
“We thought the idea of having experienced protesters would help.
“But our protest is a community one. We don’t want any trouble or violence or sending out political messages.
“We just want some answers from our government, local authorities, Mears and, the hotel itself as we have been completely left in the dark. We’re never consulted and still none the wiser to who exactly we have staying in the hotel.”
Most of those housed in the hotel will be men aged between 18 and 40, the majority of whom have arrived from the Middle East. Approximately 20 men will arrive at the hotel per week until the 174-bed capacity is reached. One local reporter said some have started to arrive already.
The men will have access to English language classes in the hotel and be able to take part in voluntary work to assist in integration to the local community.
A spokesperson for the Hope Not Hate anti-fascist group said: “Patriotic Alternative have admitted that they’re keen to 'jump on local issues' because their true agenda of racism and extremism is one that has no appeal outside of a small fringe of online cranks.
“Anyone who attends this demonstration will rub shoulders with violent extremists and racists and then be used for that group’s propaganda.”
