ANTI-ENGLISH protesters who demonstrated at the Border have been labelled “a few bampots” by Michael Gove.
The Cabinet Office Minister was speaking during a visit to Alness in the Highlands to meet traders in the hospitality industry who have been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis.
During a protest in early July, pro-independence supporters hung a banner saying “Staycation – Keep Scotland Covid-Free” beneath the official Welcome To Scotland sign on the border with England.
Scottish ministers condemned the demonstration, with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf calling it “horrible, reprehensible and vile”.
Mr Gove was asked about the protests during his visit on Monday, when he aimed to set out the UK Government’s economic support during the pandemic.
READ MORE: New Scottish independence party linked to 'vile' border protest
He said: “I think they’re just a few bampots who don’t speak for Scotland.
“You will always find some people in any situation who will engage in these sorts of stunts.
“They don’t speak for Scots and I know that’s the view of the First Minister as well.”
Another protest on July 22 involved activists putting up a banner reading “England get out of Scotland” beneath the Welcome To Scotland sign on the A1.
Sean Clerkin, whose Action for Scotland group was behind the demonstration, said there will be further events in the coming days and months.
He said these will take place at “ports of entry from England such as airports, railway stations, bus stations and roads”.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel