Since writing my Monday column, which focused on the events that have unfolded in Southport following the tragic deaths of Alice Dasilva, Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, tensions have only heighted across the UK.

This is down to a small cohort of individuals who seem to believe that stirring up racial violence, tearing down community spaces and looting shops protects women and girls.

I can’t stress enough that what happened to those three girls in Southport is utterly abhorrent. The families deserve support, not the violent response that has taken place in towns and cities in England and in Belfast.

Spreading violence, burning down libraries and advice centres, raiding businesses, and targeting places of worship does not help tackle violence against women and girls. There is absolutely no correlation. These individuals are, plain and simple, using the Southport attack as an excuse to perpetuate their racist and fascist views.

Consequently, countries around the world are looking at the UK and issuing warnings to their citizens about travelling here. So, the cost isn’t just to the taxpayer to repair the physical damage caused by these riots, but there’s reputational damage on an international scale. There will no doubt be business investment and tourism that will now be lost because of this violence.

These attacks haven’t just happened in a vacuum though. They have been fuelled by the language used by some politicians and some media outlets, suggesting immigration is the root cause of all the UK’s issues.

Reflecting on a report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) in 2016, it accused some British media outlets, particularly tabloid newspapers, of “offensive, discriminatory and provocative terminology". 

David Cameron and Nigel Farage were among the politicians and institutions named in the report with regards to the fuelling of rising xenophobia in the UK.

At the time, ECRI chair Christian Ahlund said: “It is no coincidence that racist violence is on the rise in the UK at the same time as we see worrying examples of intolerance and hate speech in the newspapers, online and even among politicians.”

Since Brexit, we’ve had a COVID-19 pandemic which, although it was a global crisis, compounded the fiscal challenge the UK faced as a result of leaving the EU. The fact the UK economy struggled to recover at the same pace as EU nations further proved the negative impact of Brexit, and ultimately helped lead to the cost-of-living crisis.

The new Labour UK Government must now get to grips with the growing racist sentiment in the UK. That must include working with the three devolved governments and local governments to tackle the root cause of racism within these islands.

While racism might appear more prevalent in certain parts of the UK, Scotland cannot and should not let itself be convinced that these views and attitudes don’t exist here.

It’s that sort of naivety that results in us failing to challenge racist and fascist views in the first place.