CIVIL unrest on the streets of England and Northern Ireland last week was grim and grotesque.

Initially, crowds of people were described as protesters, but this wasn’t a protest.

What we witnessed in Birmingham, Manchester, Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, Rotherham, Middlesbrough and Belfast was rioting.

Rumours circulated last week of similar carnage that could be headed to the streets of Glasgow, but this was untrue and Police Scotland responded to the disinformation swiftly.

The last thing we need is Cyprus sunbather Tommy Yaxley-Lennon stirring things up in Glasgow.

Over the weekend, I appeared on the Alex Salmond Show to make the case against knee-jerk reactions to the English riots.

People are entitled to freely assemble and peacefully protest as a matter of law, but the right of freedom of expression and free speech is not absolute and is, of course, subject to the rule of law.

Rioting, looting, committing arson, criminal damage, assault and racially abusing people is criminal behaviour and can never be justified under the banner of protest.

At last count, some 500 people had been arrested in England and Belfast with respect to violent disorder, with 150 people charged with various criminal offences.

There have been two main knee-jerk reactions to England’s civil unrest.

Various calls have been made to bring in the Army. I disagree. This is criminal activity and the police are the appropriate body to tackle such behaviour.

Talk of soldiers on our streets is more likely to escalate problems. We need cool, calm heads. Let the police make appropriate arrests, charge those who have committed offences and then allow justice to run its course through the courts.

Likewise, calls to ban social media aren’t helpful or sensible. Without doubt many people have used these platforms to fan the flames of hatred, disseminate misinformation and stir up violence.

The communications regulator, Ofcom, has now written to social media companies, calling on them to increase moderation of violent material on their platforms.

The 2023 Online Safety Act is due to come into force next year and introduces new duties to take down illegal content and new criminal offences in relation to social media communications.

Scapegoating immigrants has been the bread and butter of Brexiteers while, in truth, Brexit itself has been an economic disaster and, if anything, has exacerbated the inequalities in our society.

People need homes and we aren’t building enough housing. Labour have promised to tackle this issue in England – and I hope they deliver – but where is the big strategic thinking in Scotland?

I’ve always thought Glasgow should be granted formal metropolitan status and provided with additional funding for housing and homelessness.

The city effectively copes with homelessness across a large part of Scotland, because so many people from outwith the city come to Glasgow for help when they are homeless.

We have been a housing stock transfer city since March 2003. The council doesn’t have any housing of its own, yet for over two decades we’ve simply ploughed millions into private homeless hotels.

Why has the city never been given structural funding to build and buy its own housing stock to meet the massive demand for temporary homeless accommodation?

Not only would this improve homelessness services for adults and children, but it would make economic sense and save taxpayers money.