University of Glasgow building hit with red paint in fresh vandalism

Images supplied to the Glasgow Times appear to show red paint sprayed over a building at Gilmorehill. These images were taken on March 20 at around 9 am.

Red streaks can be seen running down the stone pillars and across the steps, with splatters on the surrounding masonry.

It comes after a series of vandalism incidents at Glasgow University in recent months which have seen protestors target campus buildings with red paint in opposition to the institution’s links to the arms trade and alleged investments in companies supplying Israel.

In February, the James McCune Smith Learning Hub was sprayed with red paint and demonstrators glued themselves to the building while calling for a complete trade embargo on Israel, including arms sales.

At that time, supporters of Youth Demand claimed the university had “ignored the will” of students and staff by continuing to invest in “Israeli-linked arms research”, accusing both the UK Government and the institution of making them “complicit” in the killing and maiming of Palestinian children.

The group urged others to “take a stand” and join further protests, as well as demanding an immediate end to arms trading with Israel.

The University of Glasgow has previously faced criticism over multimillion-pound shareholdings in arms firms and hundreds of thousands of pounds in research funding linked to major defence companies.

Campaigners have repeatedly called on the institution to cut financial ties with the arms industry and to back a full embargo on military exports to Israel.

There is currently no confirmation that today’s incident at the Gilbert Scott Building is connected to those earlier protests, but the use of red paint and the targeting of prominent university buildings bears similarities to previous actions and could form part of the same ongoing campaign.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 7.50am on Friday, 20 March, 2026, we received a report of vandalism to a building on Gilmorehill in Glasgow. Enquiries are at an early stage."