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Three more Scottish councils are to accept refugees and asylum seekers, according to a statement by Malcolm Chisholm, deputy minister for community care.

Following a meeting with the Asylum Seeker’s Consortium, he made the announcement but refused to identify them at this stage. They are believed to be Fife, West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire. At present, only Glasgow Council accepts refugees and asylum seekers.

The consortium is made up of representatives from local authorities, the Scottish executive and home office.

Chisholm urged more local authorities to participate in the dispersal system and pledged: "We are determined to work together to make sure we don’t have any more scenes of the sort we have witnessed in some parts of Glasgow over the past few days."

His announcement came on the same day that Glasgow Council announced it is to appoint a high profile mediator to improve relations between refugees, local residents and council departments. Following the second serious assault on an asylum seeker in the city in three days, further demonstrations occurred and sporadic violence broke out.