TWO Conservative councillors have claimed they were advised not to attend a public march in Glasgow against racism because of fears about their safety.
Councillor Thomas Kerr and councillor Euan Blockley attended the Stand up to Racism march (STUR) last Saturday to show solidarity with Glasgow Friends of Israel and Confederation of Friends of Israel in Scotland (COFIS).
Conservative councillor Thomas Kerr claims he and his colleagues are targeted with verbal abuse “on a regular basis”.
Council officials raised concern when Mr Kerr and Mr Blockley decided to attend Saturday’s demonstration to march with Glasgow Friends of Israel and COFIS.
The two groups claim they were subjected to verbal and physical racial abuse at last year’s protest despite their purpose to advocate peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Councillor Thomas Kerr said: “I have never marched with the Glasgow Friends of Israel group or Confederation of Friends of Israel before.
“I told officers I was taking part. But they called me to inform me there were concerns regarding my safety if I took part and advised me against it.
“As a conservative you are frequently subject to derogatory remarks outside the council chambers.
“Despite this myself and councillor Euan Blockley attended on Saturday. On Friday we met with the police who debriefed us on how the day would be organised.
“During the demonstration there were more police than protesters and it made me feel very uneasy. I understand the council had to take precautions but it was very over the top.
“It felt the police were acting as my bodyguard.
“Counter protesters were shouting anti-Semitic remarks in the distance but the police kept them away from us. They did a fantastic job.”
The COFIS said they were happy with the results of Saturday’s march.
Edward Sutherland, convener of COFIS, said: “There was an excellent police presence which kept the hatemongers away from us and allowed us to take part.
“Around 30 of us took part and it was very successful.”
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