Police ‘reviewing circumstances’ around protest by women’s rights campaigners

Police are “reviewing the circumstances” around a protest by gender critical campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament, which was met with a counter-protest by a trans rights campaigner.

A senior Police Scotland officer told an oversight board the force acknowledged the concerns and complaints which were raised about its handling of the protests.

On September 4, For Women Scotland held a rally at Holyrood titled “Women Won’t Wait”, calling on the Scottish Government to move faster in implementing the Supreme Court ruling on gender.

An opposing protester played loud music at the rally as a number of speakers sought to address the crowd.

A confrontation between For Women Scotland’s director Susan Smith and the counter-protester was reported to police.

During a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) board on Thursday, board member Katharina Kasper asked a panel of senior officers about the incident.

She said the police handling of the protests had attracted “wide-ranging criticism” that “by not policing the counter-protest effectively, it was effectively infringing on the rights of the protesters to conduct their protest”.

Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors outlined the training officers receive around the policing of protests.

She said police have a duty to facilitate protest as well as not to obstruct.

Ms Connors said: “We absolutely acknowledge the concerns and the complaints that were raised with regards our policing of that protest activity.

“I’d like to offer reassurances to the public and yourselves that we are reviewing the circumstances of that protest.

“We’ve already had engagement between the Edinburgh division and the professional standards division to ensure that the complaints are being considered in the round.

“We will engage further when we’ve got more detail and make sure we provide significant updates.”

She said any “learning identified” would be fed back through the force’s training mechanisms.

A For Woman Scotland spokeswoman said: “We would welcome the opportunity to talk to Police Scotland about our concerns, especially in regard to their understanding of our article 10 and 11 rights when the counter-protest is there solely and wholly to attempt to thwart our rights.”