Morning Briefing: Hundreds lay seige to Da Vinci rapist’s home

Police closed the rural road leading to Greens’ cottage as between 500 and 600 marchers assembled at the property in Bonnyrigg, just six miles from Rosslyn Chapel, where he brutally raped a 19-year-old Dutch student in 2005.

It was the second major protest against Greens since he was controversially rehoused in the area last month.

Organisers said last night’s march – which converged at the barricades from two different starting points – was “much larger” than the first.

The first group left from Newtongrange Park with a second section departing from Cockpen Church.

Addressing the crowd, co-organiser Sharon O’Donnell said: “This is a fantastic turnout once again. We are keeping our protests peaceful and not sinking down to his level. We want him to know that we are staying until he is gone.”

• A LUXURY jeweller has announced £1 million plans for its first Capital store.

Jewellery firm Rox hopes to create 12 jobs when it opens its doors within a 2500ft retail space in the revamped Assembly Rooms.

The 18th-century Category A-listed George Street store is set to open later this month following an 18-month programme of refurbishment.

Graven Images, which was involved in the design of the Missoni Hotel, has been hired to lead the fit-out. Rox managing director Kyron Keogh, said: “We have been looking for a great space in Edinburgh for quite some time now.

“When we saw the plans for the Assembly Rooms we really got the vision and everything seemed to slot into place for us.”

• ALMOST 17 million television viewers tuned in to watch Andy Murray attempt to win his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

The audience was the highest for any final at a tournament for more than 20 years, as the nation united to

witness his nail-biting encounter with Roger Federer on

Centre Court.

In Scotland, the BBC’s coverage dominated the airwaves, with a 72.2 per cent share of the audience and an average viewing figure of 1.3 million.

The number of people watching the match peaked for a spell at 1.6 million.

Murray, who trained from the age of nine at Craiglockhart Tennis Club in the Capital, captured the nation’s hearts with his tear-filled response to losing the final.

In addition to those watching at home, an estimated 600 people watched the final in the open air at Festival Square and countless others packed the city’s pubs and bars.

• SCOTLAND’S property market is still in the doldrums after estate agents reported flatlining sales and a drop in demand.

A survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found interest from potential buyers continued to fall in June and newly-agreed sales in Scotland fell for the third consecutive month.

RICS said there had been an increase in the number of new homes going on the market, but warned the rise in new properties could put further pressure on prices. Almost a fifth of surveyors said they expect prices to continue to fall in coming months.