Child dies after school coach carrying more than 60 people crashes on day trip
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Rhyl Journal
9 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Officers considering legal action against Police Scotland over Trump visit plans
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents 98% of all police officers in Scotland, said the force has already breached health and safety standards in the run up to the visit by the US president. Thousands of officers are expected to be involved in what Police Scotland has described as a 'significant policing operation'. The White House confirmed Mr Trump will visit his golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire between July 25 and 29. He will meet the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the First Minister John Swinney during his private trip. The visit is likely to result in widespread protests, following similar demonstrations during his last visit to Scotland. David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, suggested planning for the visit has already put officers at risk. He said: 'We currently have workforce agreements in place to protect police officers and provide minimum standards of Health and Safety at work. 'Sadly, we have seen these agreements breached in the days leading to the arrival of Potus (President of the United States) and as such we are seeking legal advice regarding potential legal action against the service.' Speaking to STV News, Mr Kennedy said he had 'major concerns' about the plans to police Mr Trump's trip. He told the broadcaster: 'We do not have enough police officers in Scotland. 'Anyone that says we do, I don't know where they get those figures from. 'We know what police officers have to do day in, day out and we need more officers in Scotland. 'When these events come along that puts those officers that are here under so much pressure.' Police Scotland said earlier this month it would seek help from the Scottish and UK Governments over the 'considerable' cost of policing the visit. It has also asked for support from Northern Ireland's police force, the PSNI. There had been speculation the King would host the American leader in Scotland after a meeting was suggested at Balmoral or Dumfries House, in a letter he wrote to Mr Trump in February inviting him to make the state visit. But it is understood that both sides will wait until the president's official state visit later this year. Police Scotland's Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said: 'We are working closely with the Scottish Police Federation to address any concerns they may have.' A spokesperson for the PSNI said: 'There are well established processes for any UK-based police services to request support from other services at times of peak demand. 'These requests are managed via the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) and we can confirm that PSNI have received a request to provide mutual aid to Police Scotland which we are currently assessing. 'The decision to provide officers under the mutual aid process will be considered against our own demands, ensuring that we retain the capacity to respond effectively to local issues and maintain our own operational competence.'
Scotsman
9 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Pro-Palestine march through Edinburgh to be re-routed to avoid banners touching tram lines
A pro-Palestine demonstration is set to be rerouted to avoid protesters getting close to the tram line, after an emergency shutdown of power lines was needed at a march over the weekend. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Police Scotland expressed concerns over the August 9 march after a demonstration on Saturday saw 'frantic calls' to get the power to the trams cut off over electrocution concerns. And they said that the rally had its route changed two days before it started, which added difficulty for them in policing it and led to road closures not being in place in time. A pro-Palestinian demonstration at the Mound in 2023. Picture: Lisa Ferguson. | LISA FERGUSON Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The August 9 march with an estimated 500 participants is set to be held on the same day as a major Orange walk, which is expected to see 1,500 participants descend on the city centre at the height of the Festival. The city's Licensing Sub-Committee on Monday considered two pro-Palestine demonstrations from the organisers of Saturday's march, with one set to run on August 2 and the other on August 9. Police sergeant Grant Robinson said: 'Our assessment was that serious safety issues were frankly ignored by participants and stewards. Many presented waving high flags and banners on approach to the Edinburgh Tram line. 'This resulted in an emergency shutdown of the overhead power cables, as if the flags or banners touched or came near these items, the electricity would have arced, causing serious injury or worse. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's essential that we have agreed routes with sufficient notice, so that safety measures can be put in place in advance, as this caused frantic calls between police and Edinburgh Trams to enable the shutdown.' A spokesperson for Edinburgh Trams confirmed that the power lines were shut down for 15 minutes on Saturday over safety concerns. Sergeant Robinson also said the 'number, ability and knowledge' of the protest stewards was concerning to the police service. He said Police Scotland was willing to arrange third-party free training sessions to 'upskill' stewards. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The organisers of the event were not present, having asked if the council sub-committee meeting could be delayed so they could attend. Council officers proposed that the routes of the pro-Palestine rally on the 2nd be swapped with one on the 9th, in order to space out the demonstrations happening on that day. Councillors elected not to swap the routes, but modified the route of the march on the 9th to keep it away from the Edinburgh Trams infrastructure. Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Caldwell asked if the organisers could be sanctioned for not attending the sub-committee meeting or for amending the routes of past demonstrations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A council officer replied: 'This is not a license application, notification of parades. There is no sanction for not attending committee. 'What the act simply says is that if the council makes an order, and the organiser departs from the terms of that order, that would potentially become a matter for Police Scotland, and would become a statutory offence under the act.' Sergeant Robinson said the police would only charge organisers as a last resort, continuing to say: 'We are very practical. We take an informed, reasonable approach. 'We're looking to engage, encourage, educate, before we really go down that route. I very much stress that we do not want to charge people for exercising their right [to protest], but it is a qualified right.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Addressing the request by council officers to swap the routes of the two marches, Conservative councillor and sub-committee convener Joanna Mowat said: 'I would be mindful not to alter their fundamental structure, as in, they want to go up to the American consulate. I don't know why they want to go on August 2, but that's not relevant for us. 'I would be minded, because we are going to have to do something on the 9th, which is quite a big change that we're going to have to make to their routes, that I wouldn't alter the dates. I think public safety have asked us to do that, but I'm not sure we have justification to do that.' For the march on the 9th, committee agreed a new route intended to keep protesters away from the trams, which would run from Waverley Bridge and up Market Street, turning left at the Mound. The previous route had an ambiguous staging area of the Mound itself, which could take protesters close to the tramway at the junction with Princes Street. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cllr Mowat said: 'They shouldn't be going anywhere near tram lines with their banners at that point. I mean, obviously that's going to be a conversation public safety are going to have to have with them, because the next thing we're going to have to say is that there will be a no banners march if they're going anywhere near the tram line.'
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Donald Trump intervenes in Bryan Kohberger case to demand answers over unexplained Idaho murders
Donald Trump has intervened in the Idaho murders case and said that quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger should be forced to explain why he committed the atrocities.
