Glasgow stabbing: Attacker pictured as mental health warnings emerge

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Police have released an image of the man who was shot dead after stabbing six people at a hotel housing asylum-seekers in Glasgow last week.

The picture was issued as it emerged politicians had been warned about the worsening mental health of asylum-seekers in the city during the coronavirus lockdown.

Police shot and killed Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, from Sudan, following the knife attack at the hotel in West George Street, Glasgow city centre, on Friday.

Three asylum-seekers, two members of hotel staff and a police officer were stabbed. All six victims, aged between 17 and 53, remain in hospital, with one of them in a critical condition.

Police confirmed the identity of Adam on Saturday, based on information he gave to the Home Office earlier this year.

A friend of Adam told ITV he had warned him about the attack the night before it happened.

Adam is reported to have said "'I will attack" and "they hate me, I hate them, they are against me".

The friend is said to have urged Adam not to attack anyone and reported him to the hotel reception and a housing manager the following day.

"And in the afternoon, it [the attack] happened," he added.

Police Scotland, which is not treating the incident as terrorism-related, has asked any witnesses to come forward.

The attack took place at the Park Inn hotel, where asylum-seekers were being housed during the lockdown.

Campaign groups had previously voiced concerns over the policy of moving people seeking refuge in the UK into hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic.

JustRight Scotland, a group of human rights lawyers, wrote a submission to Westminster's home affairs select committee in early June warning about the potential "psychological distress" caused by the policy.

The charity also told home secretary Priti Patel and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon of its concerns in May, days after a 30-year-old Syrian man was found dead in his hotel room in Glasgow after being moved there from his flat.

Aileen Campbell, Scotland's communities secretary, said she was "seeking an urgent call with the Home Office about asylum accommodation".

Over the weekend, police constable David Whyte, 42, who was injured in the attack, thanked his colleagues for their response to the incident.

The officer said: "Despite suffering serious injuries myself, I know that the swift actions of colleagues saved lives and prevented a far more serious incident."

"I would like to thank the medical staff at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for their outstanding care in the hours following this incident."

Additional reporting from PA