SHOCK broke out over Friday’s brutal knife attack at a city centre hotel. Last night that turned to disbelief as claims emerged that authorities had been warned about the man behind it.
He was shot dead by police who arrived at the Park Inn hotel in central Glasgow within minutes.
Police have named him as Badreddin Abadlla Adam, a Sudanese national.
It’s said that staff at the site were informed of concerns about his mental state by other asylum seekers on Thursday night.
He is understood to have shared frustrations about money, food, access to daylight, noise and relationships with those in neighbouring rooms.
One friend, who says he made the report, told Mail Online Badreddin had made a direct stab threat against specific residents, stating: “I didn’t think he would actually do anything.
“I then went to sleep. I was only woken up by the fire alarm and then when I came down I just saw the blood everywhere. I couldn’t believe he had done it.”
Constable David Whyte, 42, was injured in the West George Street incident along with males aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53. Three are asylum seekers and two are hotel staff.
Last night Whyte was in a stable condition at the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
All others remain in hospital, with four described as stable and one described as critical but stable.
Whyte said the incident was “extremely challenging”, adding: “The scene we were confronted with is something I will never forget.
“As the first responders on scene, myself and my colleague did what all police officers are trained for to save lives.
“I would like to thank my colleagues who put themselves in harm’s way to contain this incident and assist with the vital treatment given to myself and others at the scene by other emergency services.
“Despite suffering serious injuries myself, I know that the swift actions of colleagues saved lives and prevented a far more serious incident.”
Sources from within agencies supporting asylum seekers have expressed concern about the impact of that early reporting on public
understanding of what happened, and the potential impact on the public mood.
Nicola Sturgeon and council leader Susan Aitken are amongst those to call for calm, whilst Nigel Farage took to social media to claim the incident proves those seeking refuge are “a massive risk to our wellbeing”.
One source told the Sunday National the atmosphere around asylum seekers had become “febrile”, citing disorder at recent demonstrations in Glasgow in support of the community’s rights.
Others hit out at Home Office contractor Mears over its role in the incident. Concerns about the impact of its decision to move 370 asylum seekers from their temporary homes to hotels during the pandemic were raised at the outset by expert agencies and politicians.
These include the mental impact of the loss of privacy and £35-per-week financial support, as well as the ability to prepare their own meals – all things critics warned could harm vulnerable people.
Earlier this week Mears admitted that it had not carried out vulnerability assessments of anyone until after the move into shared accommodation, at which point families with young children and pregnant women were sent back to private lets and women were separated from the male population and placed in two floors on one of the five hotels used.
It’s understood that was the Park Inn, but Mears has not confirmed this.
However, it said that such an assessment would not have highlighted the case of Syrian Adnan Elbi, who died in another city hotel, McLays, after reporting suicidal thoughts. The cause of death is not yet known.
Agencies are now questioning the robustness of that process. One said: “Why wouldn’t they do it? What have they missed?”
SABIR Zazai, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, said many asylum seekers have “lived through extremely traumatic experiences” before arriving in Scotland and he is “devastated for everyone affected by this”, stating: “It is difficult to process that this has happened in Glasgow, yards from our office, in our city which has done so much to welcome newcomers over the years.”
He went on: “We have expressed repeated concern over the last three months about the use of hotel accommodation for people in the asylum system.
“It has always been our belief that people who are in Scotland seeking refugee protection require and deserve safe, secure accommodation from which to rebuild their lives.”
The Sunday National asked Mears to confirm or deny that it had forewarning about Badreddin, and what action it took.
We also asked where those affected by the Park Inn incident have been placed.
The company told us to ask the Home Office, which said: “Throughout this pandemic, we have prioritised providing asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with free and safe accommodation that enables public health guidance to be followed.
“They have access to healthcare and all of their essential living needs and costs are met.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article