Kenny MacAskill hopes a new police initiative launched in Glasgow will help prevent tragedies such as the Red Road suicides which shocked Scotland earlier this year.

The Justice Secretary spoke to STV News as police - serving in the south side of Glasgow and in East Renfrewshire - seek to improve relations with non-English speakers, asylum seekers and other ethnic minorities who live in that area.

He said: "It is all about improving relationships and understanding the challenges. It is about mutual respect. This is about bringing people together so police understand the difficulties that individuals face and, equally, reassuring the immigrant communities that police here are approachable and here to protect and serve."

In March this year, three Russian asylum seekers jumped to their deaths from the 15^th floor of a tower block at the Red Road flats in the Springburn area of Glasgow. Sergei Serykh, his wife Tatiana and Mr Serykh’s stepson Stepan were living in the area after arriving from Canada to seek asylum in the UK.

After the deaths, the UK Border Agency confirmed their application to remain in the UK had been refused but no imminent action to remove the family had been planned. The case highlighted the issues facing asylum seekers and other ethnic communities who are struggling with life in Scotland.

While this new initiative will not cover that particular part of Glasgow, it is hoped that communities across the country will learn from the scheme. The Justice Secretary added: "Clearly that (the Red Road incident) was a tragedy. We have to learn lessons from that case as we do in each and every case.

"I think this is about recognising that we are all ‘Jock Tamson's Bairns’, wherever we come from. People have to come to Scotland over the centuries and we have to cherish them and treat them with dignity and respect.

"We need police officers to understand the linguistic difficulties and sometimes the fear communities have of the police. Those who come here must realise the police are here to help, to serve and to protect them."

Speakers at the conference included charities and senior police officers. The initiative followed a survey carried out by the Govan and Craigton Integration Network, who identified fear of police as one of the leading concerns of asylum seekers in that area. As a result, police hope this project will educate ethnic groups and asylum seekers on the criminal justice system in Scotland.

If the scheme is successful, it may be rolled out across the rest of the country. Mr MacAskill concluded: "We will be learning from this. I will be feeding this back nationally. It is for the Chief Constables to decide. We are here to learn from it and roll it out if appropriate. Where there are common problems we want to find a common solution."