Police are treating a fire that destroyed the roof of a newly-refurbished housing association tenement in Glasgow as wilful, with detectives launching a formal inquiry into the incident. The blaze broke out in a fourth-floor flat at the Stonyhurst Street building in Possilpark on Sunday, 6 September 2026, at approximately 16:50, with no injuries reported. According to police statements, Detective Inspector Neil Martin said the fire is being treated as wilful and urged anyone who saw anything suspicious to come forward.
The building, which had stood derelict for two decades, was in the final stages of a £3 million renovation project to create 23 affordable rented flats across three empty tenement blocks. The incident follows a pattern of deliberate fires affecting properties across Glasgow in recent months. In August 2026, police investigated a deliberate car fire at a Glasgow-area garage amid concerns about a resurgence of gangland violence, and in July 2026, a car was deliberately driven into a house and set on fire in the Netherton area.
What sparked the allegations about asylum seekers?
Misinformation circulating online falsely claimed the refurbished flats would accommodate migrant residents. Prior to the fire, two protests had been held outside the building—one in July and another in early August—after it was claimed online that the flats would be used to house asylum seekers. Since the blaze, images of the building with flames shooting from the roof have been circulated by right-wing social media accounts describing the tenement as "migrant apartments".
MSP Paul Sweeney described the situation as
outrageous that a refurbished building risked being destroyed by fire in a socially-deprived community, and stated:
We secured nearly £3m in government investment to bring these tenements back and renovate them, so they can be used for the community in a city with a housing emergency. It was never going to illegal immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers – it was never intended for that purpose at all. So, anyone claiming that was spreading lies, misinformation, to generate clicks on social media, to whip up the community, wind people up and this is the upshot of it.
NG Homes issued a statement emphasising that
disinformation has circulated regarding the future use of the homesand stressed that
these claims are false. The buildings are being refurbished to provide much-needed affordable homes. These properties will be allocated in line with our allocations policy and Scottish housing legislation from our existing housing list. As a registered social landlord, we do not allocate housing to people who are not legally eligible for it.
How have political figures responded?
First Minister John Swinney told parliament that the incident was "absolutely deplorable" and warned that police would pursue multiple categories of people involved. He stated:
Those who are responsible for the action will be pursued, those who were circulating information to incite this behaviour will be pursued, and those who have been responsible for celebrating such behaviour will also be pursued by Police Scotland.
Swinney added:
I want to make it clear to parliament today, that when we are wrestling with housing challenges in our country, for people to go around wasting public money by setting flats on fire that are being renovated is an absolute disgrace. It undermines the efforts to improve the quality of life by providing good housing for members of the public in Scotland. So everyone who is involved in this inciting of racial tension, to stir this up, to lead to the destruction of good accommodation, is a disgrace and they'll be pursued by Police Scotland.
He also told a national broadcaster that he had
seen the rumours circulating about the potential use of the flats for migrant accommodationand warned:
If there is any wilful fireraising involved that's a criminal offence and anyone involved in such activity will have to be apprehended. It is completely and utterly unacceptable for any accommodation in any part of Scotland housing anybody to be targeted.
Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Glasgow City Council's convener for housing and development, warned that
if this was a deliberate arson attack, then all that these thugs and criminals have achieved is to extend the wait that local people will now have for the house moves they desperately need.Kelly also told a national broadcaster that it was "really difficult" to counteract misinformation like the asylum seeker claims, because "a lot of people are in a position where they want to believe the worst", and stressed that the new housing was intended to be used by people in the community.
What is the wider context for this project?
The Stonyhurst Street development formed part of a broader regeneration initiative for three empty tenement buildings in Possilpark, linked to the creation of modern, energy-efficient affordable housing. Glasgow City Council reported that, working with NG Homes, more than 3,500 empty homes had been brought back to productive use in recent years through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, which provided grant funding for refurbishment projects.
What happens next in the investigation?
Police Scotland and fire investigation teams are continuing enquiries to establish the full circumstances of the blaze. According to police appeals, detectives are seeking witnesses or anyone with information about suspicious activity around the time of the fire. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deployed six appliances and a height vehicle to tackle the blaze on Sunday, and fire crews remained at the scene on Monday morning, with one appliance and one height vehicle continuing dampening-down operations. The fire service left the scene on Monday afternoon. NG Homes said damage assessments were still being carried out and it remained too early to confirm the full impact on the renovation project's timescale.
Key Facts
- The fire destroyed the roof of a tenement on Stonyhurst Street, Possilpark, which had been derelict for 20 years and was undergoing a £3 million refurbishment to create 23 affordable rented flats
- The blaze broke out in a fourth-floor flat on Sunday, 6 September 2026, at approximately 16:50, with no injuries reported; six fire appliances and specialist resources were deployed
- Police are treating the fire as wilful and Detective Inspector Neil Martin has urged anyone who saw anything suspicious to come forward
- False allegations that the flats would house asylum seekers circulated online and prompted two protests outside the building in July and early August; NG Homes and political figures have firmly rejected these claims
- First Minister John Swinney warned that police will pursue those responsible for the fire, those who spread misinformation to incite it, and those who have celebrated the incident
