Police Scotland have investigated a number of instances of religiously motivated hate crime since the attacks in Paris on Friday.

Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone issued a statement today saying that these types of crime would not be tolerated.

He said: "Police Scotland have investigated instances of crime since the events in Paris on Friday that have been motivated by religious hatred.

"These crimes have been both on line and in public. Arrests have been made.

"Police Scotland will not tolerate any form of Hate Crime and I urge everyone across the country to continue working together to ensure that no one feels threatened or marginalised.

"If you have witnessed or been the victim of a Hate Crime, please tell us about this."

Deputy chief constable Livingstone also said his officers were doing everything they could to support the international investigation into the atrocities in Paris.

And he said all communities in Scotland had joined in condemation of the attacks.

He said: "Following the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday, I have sent condolences on behalf of Police Scotland to the Consul General, Mr. Emmanuel Cocher, at the French Consulate in Edinburgh. We are all shocked by these attacks and we are doing everything that can be done to support those who may be affected by these horrific events and we are helping in every way we can.

"Our sympathy and solidarity is with the people of France at this very difficult time.

We are currently working with law enforcement colleagues in the UK and internationally to support this investigation and more broadly to counter the threat from terrorism.

"The public should be confident that our priority is their safety and security; we want people to be alert but not alarmed.

"We constantly review security plans taking into account specific intelligence and the wider threat.

"The current overall threat level is severe which means an attack is highly likely and the threat to the UK remains very real.

"Whilst people in Scotland remain safe in going about their day to day business with family, friends and colleagues I would encourage everyone to remain vigilant, alert and avoid complacency.

"We are working closely with communities across Scotland who have, through their reaction to the Paris attack, collectively conveyed a very clear stance that Scotland must remain united against terrorism.

"Community cohesion in Scotland is strong and the widespread condemnation of the attacks across our diverse communities is evidence of this."