Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Thursday, October 30, 2025

Official Report 1214KB pdf

Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. In the past 12 hours, Police Scotland has been reviewing its decision to issue Susan Smith of For Women Scotland with a recorded police warning; if such a warning is not accepted, that leads to a charge of criminality.

Video evidence from a peaceful protest that was held outside this Parliament on 4 September, at which I and my colleagues spoke, clearly shows no evidence of criminality—such as vandalism—having been directed towards an individual who played loud music to drown out the voices of women peacefully protesting and calling for the Scottish Government to adhere to the Supreme Court judgment on biological sex.

The public must be reassured of their democratic rights, and that freedom of speech is valued by this Parliament, the Scottish Government and Police Scotland. What mechanisms are there to understand whether Police Scotland has had conversations with ministers regarding the incident on the parliamentary estate? Which mechanisms led to the police decision being reviewed? Does the Presiding Officer believe that all protests are equal and deserve to be safely facilitated, or only those that suit Scottish National Party ideology?

Thank you, Ms Hamilton. Ms Hamilton will be aware that the comments that she has just put on the record are not, in fact, a point of order.

The next item of business is a members’ business debate in the name of Craig Hoy. There will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so.