Man in court for racist tirade at Paisley convenience store

The Daily Record reports on “the latest hate crime against Scottish-Asian shop workers” with the court appearance of John Shirley, 35, on charges of racially aggravated threatening or abusive behaviour.

Shirley is accused of threatening to “kill as many of these black b******s as possible” following an altercation at the Day-Today convenience store in Paisley, Renfrewshire on 24 October 2015.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard that Shirley had been asked to close the door when he launched a tirade against shop staff. Shirley is alleged to have shouted “f**k the door” and “threatened to put a bullet in the head of staff members if they came outside and threatened to blow the shop up,” according to the paper.

The staff at the shop called the police who found Shirley on the street near the shop.

Depute fiscal Maureen McGovern said officers approached Shirley trying to calm him down but he refused and continued to use racist language saying “f*****g monkey b******s come to this country and they think they can do what they f*****g want.”

Shirley is alleged to have said, “they should all be blown up, Putin has the right idea.”

The paper notes a number of hate incidents against workers in the retail sector including the case of Gary McLellan, who called a shopkeeper a “p***” after being refused sale of alcohol for being drunk, and Jaspal Bharya, who called a shopkeeper a “p***” after he was found to be 2p short for his purchases.

The paper also notes the case of Peter Ritchie, 37, who was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for uttering a “slew of racist outbursts” at Mr Kebab workers Erik Cisar and Sukhunder Singh before carrying on the rant in the nearby Family Shopper store in Causeyside Street.

The chief executive of The Scottish Grocers’ Federation, Pete Cheema, is quoted in the paper saying those behind counters and on shop floors are easy targets for criminals.

He said: “In-store crime impacts on retailers, their staff, their families and on customers.

“Shop workers are front line staff and are too often at the sharp end of violence and intimidation.”

Sheriff Vincent Canavan at Paisley Sheriff warned Shirley that he faces “a strict punishment for sparking the drama” at the Day-Today store last October.

Sheriff Canavan adjourned the case until April 29 for further reports before passing sentence.