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4.08pm BST
Back in the Scottish parliament the SNP’s SNP’s Gillian Martin is speaking now. Taking out her phone, she says that Douglas Ross was wrong in what he said earlier (see 3.41pm) and that councils do have definitions of nightclubs. She quotes from Moray council’s one; it includes having dancing as a primary function, having more more people standing than sitting, and being open from 1am to 5am.
4.00pm BST
Scottish police will be given stronger powers to arrest protestors inside the Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh after Holyrood is made a “protected site” under UK national security laws.
Alison Johnstone, Holyrood’s presiding officer and a former Scottish Green MSP, announced today that the order giving the devolved parliament that new status was laid before Westminster this week and is expected to be approved this month.
[This] will not affect the [Scottish parliament corporate body’s] policy of welcoming and facilitating peaceful protest that respects the rights of others. We recognise that such protests are an essential part of the expression of democracy in Scotland.
[Both] the UK parliament and Welsh senedd are already designated as protected sites. We were reassured to learn from their experience that having the designation as a protected site has not limited protest – far from [it] – but has encouraged those engaging with the institutions to keep activities in line with their policies.