Adam McVey condemns 'horrific' homophobic attack in Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s council leader has condemned an assault on two men which is being investigated as a homophobic attack by police.

Two men were launched at in Leith Street, near to the John Lewis department store, at around 9.20pm on Friday by a group of thugs in a suspected homophobic attack.

One eye-witness who contacted police said they saw a group of four men, thought to be in their early 20s, punching, kicking and spitting on a man on the ground before stealing a bag and running off in the direction of the Omni Centre.

It is understood the two victims are a married gay couple.

Edinburgh City Council leader hits out at alleged homophobic attack.

Edinburgh City Council leader Adam McVey has since urged the Capital’s residents to unite in condemning the attack.

He issued a statement on Twitter reading: “Horrific to hear of homophobic robbery and assault on a gay couple 9.20pm, Friday, Leith St.

“Anyone with info please contact @EdinburghPolice on 101 quoting incident no. 3636, 30 July to help catch perpetrators.

“Edinburgh is a proud and safe city, but this should worry us all.

"This isn’t the first violent, homophobic attack this year, my thoughts are with the victims this morning.

“We all need to unite to condemn these.

“But we also need to act when minorities are subject to different treatment in press, workplaces and wider.”

He added: “Bigotry is born in playground taunts, which is why work in our schools is so important.

“Condemning assault while targeting minorities in press etc is, at best, counter-productive.

“We need to work together as a city to stamp out all root causes of hate.”

One witness to the attack told Edinburgh Evening News: “It was unprovoked entirely - the gay men did not fight back, they only tried to defend themselves.

“The boys were laughing, egging each other on and calling the victims p**fs. Another girl (at the scene) heard them say p**fs explicitly.”

Police are investigating the hate crime element and have appealed for anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

A police spokesperson said enquiries into the attack are ongoing and anyone with information should contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting incident number 3636 of 30 July.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.