Police have been ordered to publish discussions on the plans they put in place around Rangers' fans 'shameful' Premiership title party celebrations in Glasgow.
Thousands of supporters descended on George Square and Ibrox stadium to celebrate the Light Blues' league win in March 2021. Scotland, at that point, was still tight in the grip of Covid-19 and under lockdown rules for the second time.
Over that weekend around 30 revellers were arrested.
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Last year Police Scotland released 17 pages of 'correspondence' after a Freedom of Information request was lodged. Of the 17 pages, almost all of the discussions had were redacted, with force chiefs claiming it was not in the public interest.
But after a year-long probe, the force has now been told to release the information following a ruling by the Scottish Information Commissioner. Deputy First Minister John Swinney branded the scenes on March 6 and 7 last year as 'shameful'.
The title celebrations caused ructions between Police Scotland, Rangers and the Scottish Government, with the force and ministers accusing the club of not doing enough to prevent the mass gatherings.
Police Scotland was asked to release details of discussions with the SPFL, the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, about its policing plans ahead of the weekend. Superintendent Stephen Dolan, who described himself as having 'responsibility' for the policing operation that weekend, the company secretary and director of operations at the SPFL, Calum Beattie, and an unnamed Government official were involved in the discussions.
Refusing the request, Police Scotland initially claimed that releasing the information would 'compromise operational policing'. They later claimed disclosure would stop officers being able to catch criminals by giving them a 'heads-up' on the quality of its information.
But the argument was rejected by the Scottish Information Commissioner. In most cases, the commissioner accepts that legally available exemptions to public bodies apply, but often rules in favour of disclosure when considering a key test known as the 'public interest test'.
In this case, however, the commissioner said the exemptions used by Police Scotland on the substantive content simply did not apply.
He said: "He does not agree, however, that it provides enough detail about likely strategies or resources that would be deployed to enable anyone to understand or pre-empt Police Scotland's policing of this or future matches, celebrations, protests or marches. While the commissioner agrees that protection of individuals and communities from crime and disorder is of the upmost importance, he is not persuaded from the withheld information or the submissions made by Police Scotland that the detail in the withheld information would allow anyone, even a determined individual, to take steps to avoid detection or increase the threat of criminal behaviour."
Police Scotland have until September 5 to publish the information.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We have received the decision, which will be considered and responded to in due course."
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