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An SNP minister has condemned the “small minority” of Scots who “create fear, division and hostility” in communities across the country.

Equalities minister Simita Kumar was speaking in the wake of rising tensions in communities such as Glasgow where rival groups of protesters clashed in the city over the summer.

Meanwhile First Minister John Swinney has condemned as “deplorable” a fire at a tenement in Glasgow wrongly believed to be being prepared to house refugees.

MSPs are expected to back a motion on Wednesday in support of “robust criminal justice responses to violence, intimidation, hatred and disorder”.

The Government motion also condemns “the small minority of people who create fear, division and hostility within Scotland’s communities in person and online”, stressing that everyone should be able to “live safely free from prejudice, hatred and discrimination”.

Ms Kumar will tell MSPs that recent events have “caused many communities, including faith, migrant and minority communities, to feel fearful and unsafe”.

She will say: “These are the actions of a small minority who create fear, division and hostility.

“There can be no justification, excuse or tolerance for such behaviour.”

Stressing the need for “visible action and leadership”, she will add that the Programme for Government announced by the First Minister last week included plans to set up a ministerial taskforce on community cohesion “to address shared, urgent concerns and issues, and identify priority areas for action”.

Urging MSPs from all parties to come together and back the motion, Ms Kumar said: “The Government is clear any form of hatred, racism and division have no place in Scotland, and Parliament should unite today to make that clear.”