Council officials and Police have been meeting to discuss possible action following the assault on a priest in Glasgow during an Orange parade.

Council leader, Susan Aitken, held a meeting which ran late into the evening to discuss what action is legally available to the council.

The council has come under pressure to ban such parades after the incident during the largest Orange Order parade of the year last weekend.

A website petition of around 70,000 signatures has been gathering support online to stop the marches.

However, the council will not be considering the petition as it does not meet the strict eligibility criteria.

Petitions can only be submitted by Glasgow residents or businesses.

Read more: Police release description of suspect who spat on priest during Glasgow's Orange Walk

Also current legislation, set by the Scottish Parliament, covering the freedom of assembly doesn’t allow the council to impose a blanket ban on marches from one specific organisation, when others would be free to do so under the law.

But it is understood robust and frank discussions have taken place to implement measures to try and ensure there is no repeat of the attack.

A council source said: “The meeting was urgent and necessary given the mass public revulsion at this anti catholic hate crime.”

Canon Tom White was spat on and lunged at by a man with a baton outside St Alphonsus Church in Calton in the east end, on Saturday while he spoke outside the church with parishioners after a mass.

Police said they believe a man in his 20s with a shaved head was involved in the incident.

Another three parades are planned to pass the church and another in the area, St Mary’s, in the next two months.

Possible solutions could be the re- routeing of parades away from potential flashpoints or specific places of worship and working with the organisers to ensure stewarding is as effective as possible.

Read more: Orange Walk in Glasgow: Evening Times readers have their say

The Orange Order said it condemned the “bigoted actions” of those involved and that no members of the parade were involved.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman, said: “The council works within the current legislation which is in the control of Scottish Parliament and works with the police and organisers to try and mitigate against potential risk and disturbances.”