PRESSURE is mounting on a neo-Nazi band who are due to play in Scotland. after repeated calls for the concert to be cancelled.
White supremacist group Bound for Glory are booked to perform a gig at a secret venue in Falkirk on October 22.
However calls from anti-hate groups and Government officials have potentially halted the US band's concert from taking place.
Read more: Notorious neo-Nazi White Power band heading to Falkirk for first ever UK gig
At the time of writing, there were also reports from anti-hate campaigners that the gig itself had been cancelled.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson said he intended to write to Home Secretary Amber Judd urging her to stop the group from entering the country.
In a statement issued from Michael Matheson yesterday, he said: "I am considering every option open to stop violent neo nazi band Bound for Glory bringing their hatred to Scotland.
"The best approach would be to refuse this band entry to the UK and I will be writing to the Home Secretary to ask that she consider this.
"I have also asked the Chief Constable to consider with partners powers available to stop this event happening. There is no place for hatred of this kind in Scotland."
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: "We will not tolerate any group that incites violence or hatred in our communities across Scotland.
"We are working with a range of organisations across the country to intervene and where possible, prevent any event that promotes extremist or racist views."
Read more: Notorious neo-Nazi White Power band heading to Falkirk for first ever UK gig
The Home Office said individuals could be excluded from entering the UK on the grounds "that their presence is 'not conducive to the public good' if it is reasonable, consistent and proportionate based on the evidence that is available."
Bound for Glory were first rumoured to be headed for Scotland in January where they were reportedly booked to play La Belle Angele in Edinburgh before the venue's owners withdrew.
Described as a white power thrash metal outfit, they are known for performing alongside swastika's with songs about "racial pride".
Their work includes songs with titles such as 'Hate Train Rolling', 'Behold the Iron Cross', and 'C**n Shootin Boogie II'.
Formed in 1989 and based in Minnesota, they have previously voiced support for British Nazi group Combat 18, which targeted ethnic minorities and "leftists" throughout the 1990s.
The band have toured Europe several times, playing to a crowd of 1,300 in Germany in 1992, but have never performed in the UK.
Yesterday the Herald's sister paper the Sunday Herald said it had learned the violent group was due to play in Falkirk, after it had initially been reported to take place in Edinburgh or West Lothian.
Read more: Notorious neo-Nazi White Power band heading to Falkirk for first ever UK gig
Matthew Collins, of anti-hate organisation Hope Not Hate, said the concert had been organised by London-based Vicky Pearson, a veteran of Britain's neo-Nazi scene, and her Scottish-based boyfriend Thomas 'Steny' Stenhouse.
The concert would be the largest white power concert to ever take place in Scotland, attracting hundreds of skinheads and white supremacists from across Europe.
Collins also claimed Police Scotland had prior knowledge of the concert and met with organisers, though a spokeswoman denied these claims.
In a statement made on Facebook last night, Hope Not Hate said the gig had been cancelled.
It said: "Citing adverse media attention and the likelihood that the US band members would be refused entry into this country and the venue would cancel the gig, the organisers have stepped in to call off the gig.
"While obviously we will remain vigilant to ensure that organiser Vicky Pearson is true to her word, we can celebrate a huge victory for people power."
At the time of writing, these claims had yet to be verified.
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