Scotland’s night patrol groups say they are protecting women and children. Critics claim they are ‘vigilantes’

It’s a dank evening in Peterhead and someone is walking the streets of the north east town filming people. The man, seemingly drunk, is live streaming himself on Facebook and announces he’s on night patrol to protect the community. 

He makes lewd and homophobic remarks and says: “I’m looking for fucking paedo illegals [sic]", referring to asylum seekers. As the man continues his patrol he shouts abuse at police and apparently urinates in the street. At one point he films a young blonde woman dressed in black, walking alone. “She’s gorgeous,” he says, recording her from behind. He also makes sexualised jokes after conversing with young people in a car and says: “I’ll hae a wank to you”.

In a separate video, a man patrolling with a group in Aberdeen cites a white supremacist slogan. Another clip shows a black man confronted by a ‘night patrol’ in Glasgow as he walks along the River Clyde. The clip, posted on X, prompted a series of racist comments including a suggestion that the “black c**t” should have been stabbed and thrown in the river.

For our latest investigation, The Ferret has delved into the world of street patrols, the latest phenomenon to emerge from Scotland’s raging culture war. We’ve found at least 14 groups across the country who have taken to the streets while promoting themselves as defenders of communities. 

Often posting videos on social media, they claim to be peaceful activists who simply want to protect women and children. But critics argue they are effectively vigilantes with political agendas who often target migrants, amid fears innocent people are being intimidated in public by groups allegedly fuelling far right narratives.

Police Scotland told The Ferret that it does “not endorse, condone or encourage any group's activity”.

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The Ferret’s investigation follows our story in March revealing that a self-described Nazi who expressed racist, anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler views conducted late night “patrols” in Forth, South Lanarkshire. John Carroll claimed he is watching over the community and deterring crime.

The Peterhead video was made earlier this month by a member of Unite the Clans Scotland, a group opposed to asylum seekers. “Unite the Clans is now doing street patrols in Peterhead,” the man said on camera, as he walked the town’s streets, and at one point he chanted: “From Land’s End to John O’Groats, stop the dinghies, stop the fuckin boats.” 

Following a raft of complaints about his behaviour, Unite the Clans said on Facebook: “We want to make it clear we do not condone this kind of behaviour from anyone! and he will no longer be part of our group or standing with us anymore! Absolutely disgusted.” 

Other groups patrolling the streets included Aberdeen Against Illegal Migration, which is closely linked with Unite the Clans. Its supporters include Josh Fernie of the Homeland Party, a white nationalist group that advocates the mass deportations of "illegal and unwelcome” migrants. 

We found there are seven groups and individuals active in Glasgow including P Maguire who posts videos on X. He is also part of a patrol called North2South. One clip he posted shows a black man filmed by the ‘patrol’ at the River Clyde, which prompted a series of racist comments. The group alleged the man had weapons and claimed he “pulled something from his trousers and was going to attack our team”. But the clip shows the man taking a mobile phone from his pocket.  

In March, Reform’s leader Malcolm Offord revealed he had joined North2South on a Glasgow patrol and claimed it was acting “in cooperation” with Police Scotland. But the force rejected his claim and pointed out that a city centre dispersal zone has been in place since March, with dispersal powers used by officers 438 times. These powers allow police to direct groups of two or more people to leave the zone if their behaviour is impacting on the safety of others. 

Our research also discovered similar activist ‘patrol’ groups based in Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, and Falkirk. Many of these groups post videos of patrols on Facebook or TikTok. 

In April, it was reported that two street patrol groups – ScotsActive and Save Our Country Glasgow – had their TikTok accounts banned after recruiting online. ScotsActive shared footage of members ‘exposing migrant hotels’ and recording through the windows of hotels they claim were used to house asylum seekers.

England’s vigilantes

Vigilante groups in England have been heavily criticised. Last October in Bournemouth the Dorset Police and crime commissioner David Sidwick described them as a response to "a problem which doesn't exist". He accused individuals of "throwing juicy bones to the mainstream media and certain social media individuals who only have one thing in mind, which is their own 'clicks' or their own popularity". He also pointed out that crime in Bournemouth had gone down by eight per cent, while personal anti-social behaviour was down by between two and 26 per cent. Violent crime had gone down by four per cent.

Earlier this month, a former private schoolboy who was part of a wider group of anti-migrant vigilantes, started a campaign to buy a boat and intercept small boats arriving with migrants in the English Channel. Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, has links to far right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – aka Tommy Robinson – and previously filmed himself on the French coast destroying small boats. 

Last year, Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, was criticised after calling for vigilante groups to patrol the streets. Such groups have also sprung up in Iceland, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Spain, Poland and Germany, amongst other countries.

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Dr Judith Sijstermans, a lecturer in politics at Aberdeen University who researches the far right, said these “vigilante activities” can be seen as “one of a wider series of actions used by far right activists” in Scotland. “Activities like these vigilante walks reinforce the division between those who belong in the ‘community’ and those (driven by racial profiling) viewed as transgressive ‘outsiders’.”

She added: “Ideologically, vigilante walks reinforce claims around disorder and bolster demands for a more authoritarian state which are fundamental to the far right. Finally, when later broadcast on social media, these actions are part of a wider environment of disinformation and shocking click-bait which spread quickly online.”

Harvey Duke, one of the main organisers of anti-fascist protests in Dundee, said members of far right groups regularly like posts praising vigilantes, even when the activities are “clearly racist or abusive to women”. He added: “In Dundee, members of the now defunct Dundee Patriots threatened to run their own 'street patrols' a few months ago. Anti-racists and anti-fascists defeated that group through an intense campaign of counter protests whenever asylum seekers were threatened.”

According to the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ justice spokesperson, Liam McArthur MSP,  groups patrolling streets are “cosplaying as vigilantes” and he urged police to “monitor them closely so that it does not mutate into anything nastier." He added: “If they are committing crimes or harassing members of the public they will need to be swiftly dealt with by the police. There is no place for fear and intimidation on our streets and nor should these ‘patrols’ be allowed to launder far right sentiments in our communities.”

Police Scotland told The Ferret it does not work with street patrols or their members, nor advise them in any way. "Keeping people in our local communities safe is our priority and officers will always respond appropriately to any crimes reported,” a police spokesperson said, adding that if anyone has concerns about crimes in their community they should speak to an officer or contact Police Scotland through 101, or 999 in an emergency.

North2South denied it was a racist group, and claimed its patrols had played a part in stopping people from taking their own lives, and protecting young women. A spokesperson said: “We are well-established and organised with backing from a lot of high people and also the backing of our local communities.”

The Homeland Party said the word vigilante is “prejudicial and inaccurate” and that people are “not taking the law into their own hands”. A spokesperson added: “They liaise with the police and act accordingly because local families feel ignored, not because they wish to create division. They have no powers, claim no powers, and seek no confrontation. Their purpose is simply to be a visible, lawful presence in the area, more akin to a neighbourhood watch than anything else.”

Homeland's Josh Fernie said: “I have been out once, in response to a genuine report of girls being followed, harassed, and subjected to upskirt photography after attending an under-18s disco. Parents asked for people to be present so there would at least be eyes on the street and a deterrent to further incidents. 

He added: “That is not vigilantism. That is a community doing what it can when the authorities fail to provide reassurance. If politicians, police, and the media did their jobs properly by taking local concerns seriously and preventing sex crime on our streets, none of this would be necessary.”

Unite the Clans said it was not a vigilante group, adding: “We have been peacefully protesting since August. We have built a following of 38,000 supporters and our work is well‑known across Scotland.”

Save Our Country, Aberdeen Against Illegal Migration and Malcolm Offord have been approached for comment.