Woman in court charged with hate crime after protest at asylum hotel in Greenock

A woman has appeared in court charged with a hate crime following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Greenock.

Stacey Williams appeared at Greenock Sheriff Court on Friday following the incident near the Holiday Inn Express on Main Street in the town on Wednesday evening.

The 32-year-old was charged under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Williams, from Greenock, made no plea and was granted bail.

No further court date has been set.

The protest came following racist attacks in Glasgow in response to a knife attack in Belfast on Monday.

Five people were injured, including two police officers, after hundreds of people wearing masks marched through Glasgow city centre on Tuesday.

Police Scotland said members of the public had been “attacked due to the colour of their skin”.

The following evening, a protest was held outside the hotel in Greenock that has been used to house asylum seekers.

Two men were arrested and issued with fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour offences.

Smaller demonstrations have also been held in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Perth, Ayr and Paisley with no arrests made.

In Belfast, 19 arrests have now been made since street violence first erupted on Tuesday.

Disorder flared in response to a knife attack on Monday night, in which a man suffered significant injuries, including the loss of his left eye.

Stephen Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, also suffered deep cuts to his head, face and back in the stabbing attack in the north of the city – a graphic video clip of which went viral. On Thursday, it was said he remained in an induced coma, but his condition was said to be improving.

Sudanese national Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack.