PUBLIC PROCESSIONS - Saturday, 21 September

FOUR public processions due to take place in Glasgow on Saturday are expected to go ahead.

Glasgow City Council today confirmed that, having received information from Police Scotland, it will not hold a Public Processions Committee.

In the case of a parade by the Pride of Govan Flute Band, this is because police have warned there could be serious disorder if the procession is prevented, although they have also said they would be able to police it either way.

A spokesman said: "The council has been placed in an impossible position in relation to the parade in Govan.

"Police Scotland has said that should the procession not go ahead, many of the 800 people due to take part will react angrily - which could lead to violence and a significant impact on the local community.

"We deeply regret that the wider community in Govan will be subject to this disruption. However, police have made it absolutely clear that this could be made worse if these people are not allowed to march.

"The council has asked the organisers to voluntarily withdraw this notification, which they have refused to do.

"Today, we are directly appealing to them to reconsider that decision and think about the impact of their actions on the community in Govan and on tensions across the city.

"We also call on other groups not to mount protests against the march."

Three other processions are due to take place on Saturday. Details can be found here:

https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/futureprocessions

The Police Scotland submission can be found in the Related Documents section on this page.