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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Laura Webster

FMQs suspended as protester shouts from Scottish Parliament public gallery

FMQS was temporarily suspended on Wednesday as a person stood up in the public gallery to stage a protest.

MSPs in the Scottish Parliament Chamber could be seen turning around to watch after a person shouted that something was “completely unacceptable”.

It came as MSP Stephanie Callaghan was asking about the Supreme Court’s verdict that Scotland cannot hold an independence referendum without Westminster’s permission.

Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone announced that she was suspending business "for a moment" while the incident was dealt with.

The person appears to have been removed from the Chamber within seconds, as FMQs returned in under a minute.

It is currently unclear what the person was protesting about.

Earlier this month there was a row in the Parliament as a woman wearing a Suffragette scarf was removed from a committee meeting on gender recognition reform proposals.

Johnstone said the decision by security to ask the woman to remove the scarf and the subsequent move to prevent her from re-entering the meeting were errors.

“Let me make one thing crystal clear – suffrage colours are not and never have been banned at the Scottish Parliament," she told the Parliament following the incident.

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