Orange Order ask John Swinney for help with online trolls after Glasgow march
It comes after members of the Ladies Orange Association of Scotland held an Orange walk in the city on Sunday, April 27, 2025.
As part of the march, hundreds of women paraded through the city centre streets. The Glasgow Times reported that around 500 people were expected to take part, including Orange bands.
Following the event, the Grand Orange Lodge has claimed some of its members have been "subjected to deeply offensive online abuse".
According to the Lodge, trolls have targeted its members for "expressing their faith and culture".
(Image: Newsquest) They also revealed the abuse has "caused serious emotional distress" to some of its members as well.
Due to the alleged trolling, the Orange Order has urged the Scottish Government and police to "take urgent action".
The Order's Most Worthy Grand Master has written to Swinney to request an "immediate meeting" to discuss the abuse.
In a statement, they said: "The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland continues to highlight and condemn in the strongest terms the continued rise of anti-Protestant hatred across our country.
"This troubling trend was once again evident following the recent Ladies Orange Association of Scotland's annual church parade held on Sunday, April 27, in Glasgow.
"Members of our association have been subjected to deeply offensive online abuse, targeted solely for expressing their faith and culture.
"This level of abuse has caused serious emotional distress, with some members experiencing trauma and mental health issues as a result of the level of abuse.
"No other denomination in Scotland would be expected to tolerate such hostility, and the Protestant community is no different.
"We will not accept this double standard in a modern Scotland.
"The Ladies Orange Association of Scotland is a Christian-based fraternity that upholds values of faith, service, and community.
"Our members, and the wider Loyal Orange Institution, contribute positively and actively within their local communities, often working quietly and tirelessly for the good of all.
"The level of sectarian abuse directed at the Protestant community cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.
"We call upon the Scottish Government and law enforcement agencies to take urgent action.
"The Loyal Orange Institution demands that those responsible for this online hate be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.
"Furthermore, the Most Worthy Grand Master has personally written to the First Minister of Scotland to request an immediate meeting to discuss this unacceptable and ongoing abuse toward our community.
"We urge the First Minister to respond swiftly and meaningfully.
"Hate has no place in a tolerant and equal society.
"All communities in Scotland deserve respect, safety, and protection -without exception.
"The Executive of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland stands in full support of the Most Worthy Grand Mistress and the Executive of the Ladies Orange Association of Scotland during this difficult time.
"We offer our solidarity and support as they face unacceptable abuse, and we remain united in our commitment to defend and uphold the rights and dignity of our Protestant community and the Loyal Orange Institution of Scotland."
The Scottish Government and Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
18 minutes ago
- STV News
Is the ferry connecting Fife to mainland Europe about to return?
Plans to reinstate a ferry link between Fife and mainland Europe have moved a step closer with a solution to a key border control obstacle now in sight. Danish operator DFDS is aiming to launch a service between Rosyth and Dunkirk as early as spring 2026, carrying both passengers and freight. The route could handle around 51,000 passengers a year initially, rising to 79,000, and bring an estimated £11.5m annual boost to the Scottish economy. One of the main barriers has been the need for a Border Control Post (BCP) at Rosyth to process certain goods, particularly agrifood products. Building a new facility was deemed prohibitively expensive and unnecessary, with DFDS instead proposing to use the existing BCP at Grangemouth. The UK–EU deal agreed earlier this year will eventually remove the requirement for BCPs altogether, but an interim arrangement is needed if the ferry is to start before the rules change. In England, similar 'remote BCP' arrangements already allow sanitary and phytosanitary goods arriving at Dover to be checked over 20 miles away at Sevington. Scotland secretary Ian Murray has written to Steve Reed, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs along with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales outlining how a ferry service between Rosyth and Dunkirk could proceed without a specific Border Control Point at Rosyth. In his letter, Murray said: 'I would like to propose that we urgently seek to agree that an amendment to the BTOM is made, as a transitional measure to allow the use of remote BCPs, within a short radius of the port of arrival…' While it is the Scottish Government who must amend the regulation to allow the use of a remote BCP at Grangemouth, this can only be exercised with a cross-GB consensus. Dunfermline and Dollar MP Graeme Downie, who has been working to resolve the issue, said: 'A regular passenger and freight ferry service from Rosyth to Dunkirk would be an incredible boon for the Dunfermline and Scottish economy, making trade easier as well as making it simpler for people from Europe to visit the Kingdom of Fife. 'These matters can be complex but we have taken a huge stride towards making this ferry service a reality. 'I want to thank the secretary of state for Scotland and his officials for their work and assistance in finding a way to ensure a BCP is not required at Rosyth. Their efforts make it more likely a passenger and freight ferry to Dunkirk could begin as soon as next year. 'We are not quite there yet and, in particular, a small amount of infrastructure is needed at the Port of Rosyth. However, as the ferry is one of the projects in the strategy of the Forth Green Freeport I am hopeful we can overcome this problem as well. 'I have spoken to both Forth Ports and the Green Freeport about this issue in the past and hope to meet with them very soon to discuss how speedy progress could be made in time for the ferry to begin next year.' The project also has the backing of major Fife employers, including Amazon and seafood company Mowi, and could remove 8.2 million kilometres of freight traffic from UK roads each year, cutting carbon emissions. The link would replace the previous service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in Belgium. The passenger service ended in 2010 before becoming freight-only, and was ultimately axed in 2018 after a fire aboard one vessel made the route uneconomical. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
40 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Sturgeon on TV: Golden gal takes on brass neck. Who won?
But how would the golden gal of British broadcasting fare against the big brass neck of Scottish politics? Viewers turned to Nicola Sturgeon: the Interview to find out. 'The' interview suggested something special, but filming took place in Ayrshire ten days ago. Since then Ms Sturgeon has been all over the Murdoch press and every other branch of the media, her book picked cleaner than a turkey on Boxing Day. This, however, was the first broadcast interview, which meant the first chance to see Ms Sturgeon becoming 'emotional' as television folk coyly call it when someone cries on camera. Etchingham had dressed in cool neutrals for the occasion, with Sturgeon opting for a scarlet jacket. Perhaps she was trying to channel her inner Butlin's Redcoat to jolly things past the difficult stuff. It didn't work. Certainly there was no May-like confession to stealing from the pick n mix in Woolworths. She was rude about Nigel Farage ('odious'), but who isn't? Read More: When she did get into difficulty it was all her own doing, as when Etchingham brought up the rapist Isla Bryson. You might have thought it impossible for Sturgeon to make even more of a pig's ear out of this subject, but boy did she ever. Etchingham was looking at the former First Minister as if she was trying to argue that the Earth was flat. Personally, I turned the same shade as Sturgeon's jacket. Someone had to shoulder the embarrassment and it was not going to be our Nicola. There was some moistening around the eye area when she spoke of Alex Salmond's passing. She still misses him 'in some way' - a quote up there with Charles's 'whatever love means' - for half-baked sincerity. Julie Etchingham and Nicola Sturgeon discussed topics from independence to gender recognition reform (Image: ITV News) As for her new love life, her lips were sealed. 'I'm enjoying being my own person for a while,' she burbled, sounding for all the world like some Real Housewife of Montecito. Etchingham had a go at holding Sturgeon to account on domestic policy but nothing landed. She might as well have been on The One Show on BBC1, sandwiched between a soap star and an item on dodgy plumbers. The half hour running time and the 7pm slot told their own story. If there had been anything juicy the programme would have been on at 9pm, not just before Emmerdale. Upstaged by sheep. It shouldn't happen to a vet, or a former FM, but it did. The toe-curling was not quite over - there was still the matter of Nic's first tattoo. 'Midlife crisis alert,' she joked. You said it, dear. It was an infinity symbol she designed herself, something about strength and resilience and moving forward. In short, your basic woo-woo b******. Come to think of it, that would have been a better title for her book. Is it too late to change?
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Sturgeon: Salmond happier for SNP to be destroyed than succeed without him
In her memoir, Frankly, the former first minister said she had come to the realisation that her former friend and mentor 'wanted to destroy me'. She said her relationship with the late politician began to deteriorate as soon as she became leader of Scotland. Mr Salmond, who died last year, quit as SNP leader and first minister in 2014 after the Scottish independence referendum. Alex Salmond stood down as first minister in 2014 (Ben Curtis/PA) Ms Sturgeon also claims in her book that Mr Salmond had admitted to her that the 'substance' of one of the sexual harassment complaints had been true. The former Alba Party leader was acquitted of all charges relating to the allegations at court in 2020, while a judicial review found the Scottish Government's own investigation of him was tainted with apparent bias. Ms Sturgeon said her former mentor had created a conspiracy theory about Scotland's core democratic institutions to shield himself from accountability. She said Mr Salmond never produced a 'shred of evidence' to support these claims. She accused him of trying to 'distort' and 'weaponise' the trauma of victims. In her book, which was on sale in some places ahead of schedule on Monday, she said: 'In his (Salmond's) efforts to turn himself into the wronged person, he demonstrated that nothing and no one was sacrosanct for him. 'There was never the merest hint of concern about the damage he did to the party he previously led. 'Indeed, it felt to me that he would have rather destroyed the SNP than see it succeed without him.' She accused her former boss of having 'impugned the integrity' of the institutions 'at the heart of Scottish democracy', including the Government, Police Scotland and Crown Office. In 2020 Alex Salmond was cleared by a court of sexually assaulting nine women while first minister (Andrew Milligan/PA) She went on: 'The fact that he never produced a shred of credible evidence that a conspiracy existed, because it didn't, wasn't enough to stop him seeking to damage the reputation of these institutions and shatter the morale of those who worked in them. 'He was prepared to traumatise, time and again, the women at the centre of it all. 'A jury concluded that what they experienced wasn't criminal, but that does not mean those experiences didn't happen. 'Even if he never said so explicitly, he was accusing them of being liars, of making it all up.' The former SNP leader said Mr Salmond had made his former allies and SNP colleagues 'mortal enemies' in the fallout over misconduct claims against him. Nicola Sturgeon said that to Alex Salmond she became 'public enemy number one' (Robert Perry/PA) 'In that regard,' she wrote, 'I was clearly public enemy number one. For a while, I told myself that the bonds between us would be stronger than his thirst for revenge. 'Eventually, though, I had to face the fact that he was determined to destroy me. 'I was now engaged in mortal political combat with someone I knew to be both ruthless and highly effective. 'It was a difficult reality to reconcile myself to. 'So too was losing him as a friend. I went through what I can only describe as a grieving process. 'For a time after we stopped speaking, I would have conversations with him in my head about politics and the issues of the day. 'I had occasional, but always vivid, dreams in which we were still on good terms. I would wake up from these feeling utterly bereft.' Alba Party leader Kenny MacAskill said: 'It is Nicola Sturgeon who has demeaned the office of First Minister and who has been shown to be without shame or honour in besmirching a man now dead. 'Alex Salmond was acquitted on all charges and it was Sturgeon's government which was found to have acted unlawfully unfairly and tainted with apparent bias. 'The break in friendship came from her when she turned on her mentor who had made her politically. 'Shamefully she continued to do so even when he is dead.'
