Police give go-ahead for far-right protest amid fear of clashes

Up to 500 anti-Islam protesters from the Scottish Defence League (SDL) are expected to stage a demonstration in the Waterloo Place-Regent Road area around noon, despite having their request to stage a parade turned down by Edinburgh city council.

A similar number of anti-racism campaigners are expected to confront the SDL after staging their own demonstration at the foot of The Mound.

Hundreds of police officers are expected to be on duty to keep the protesters apart at either side of the Wellington tatue, at the east end of Princes Street. The Lothian and Borders force has warned shoppers to expect some disruption, but has pledged to keep traffic moving in the normally busy area.

The Unite Against Fascism group – which was given approval to have a parade by the council – said its members were likely to break away from their own protest if it became obvious that the SDL was planning to march.

But the officer in charge of today’s events has pledged to deal with any disorder “very robustly”.

Assistant chief constable Iain Dickinson said: “We have been engaging with both groups over the last few weeks on the basis that we would rather know what they are doing than not knowing.

“The SDL will not be allowed to march at all and that has been made clear to them. They will be allowed to gather on Waterloo Place or Regent Road, but will not be allowed any further.

“The Unite Against Fascism group have been given permission to parade along Princes Street but not as far as the Wellington statue. The only people allowed to gather there will be the police.

“Our priority is public safety and we want to ensure the city can function normally, although we accept there will be some disruption in the early afternoon.”

Councillors turned down the SDL – sister organisation to the “anti-Islam” English Defence League – despite police insisting they could handle an official demo. The council was concerned about a “significant risk” of disorder if it allowed a parade, and rejected concerns a ban would flout principles of freedom of speech after viewing photographs of recent SDL demos showing placards featuring racist phrases.

Luke Henderson, a spokesman for Unite Against Fascism, said: “We’ve been given strict instructions. Our main concern is that the SDL do not stage any kind of parade in the city centre and, if they do, it may be difficult to hold some of our members back.”

The SDL was not available for comment yesterday