Long record of protests by Scot arrested over Beijing Olympic stunt

But his latest publicity stunt is the most audacious to date. Yesterday a dramatic pro-Tibet protest outside the Olympic stadium saw him arrested along with three other activists.

The Edinburgh 24-year-old, Lucy Fairbrother, from Cambridge, and two US activists unfurled a Free Tibet banner in Beijing, just hours before the Olympic torch was due to arrive in the city's Tiananmen Square.

All four are expected to be deported at the earliest opportunity, according to the Xinhua Chinese news agency.

Friends yesterday said they were not at all surprised by his actions on this latest crusade and said he had expected to be arrested.

In 2004, as an active member of Students for Free Tibet, he campaigned against the Chinese army's appearance at the Edinburgh Tattoo which saw a number of arrests.

A year later, he was among student demonstrators who padlocked a large banner to the city's Scott Monument in protest against the possible lifting of the EU arms embargo on China.

Lorraine Simpson, a friend and former neighbour, said Mr Thom was deeply moved by the Tibet campaign and was regularly involved in fund-raising for the cause.

She said: "I think his decision to get involved with Tibet was a gradual thing. He was passionate about the issue and has been for a number of years. He's a really kind-hearted, compassionate man. He was always skint, but he did a lot of voluntary work, always helping people out.

"Iain didn't tell me what he was going to do in China. He just said he was going to be busy over the Edinburgh Festival."

The Edinburgh University graduate was detained yesterday morning after climbing a 120ft-street light to hang a giant pro-Tibet banner.

The four protesters are members of the Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) group. They were arrested at 7am local time after having displayed two 140sq ft banners outside the heavily guarded Bird's Nest Olympic stadium for nearly an hour.

The protest came as a major embarrassment to the host nation ahead of tomorrow's opening ceremony. Two other SFT members, James Murray and Jenny Raynor, scaled Tower Bridge in London yesterday to display a banner that read: "Beijing 2008: Make Olympic History: Free Tibet."

Born in Inverness, Mr Thom was educated at Muir of Ord Primary School before moving on to nearby Dingwall Academy.

The 24-year-old graduated in environmental geoscience from Edinburgh University, where he was president of Tibet Society.

After a period of travelling, he was employed as an environmental justice project officer by Friends of the Earth and is currently on leave of absence.

On Facebook, the social networking site, he outlines his interests in 28 different protest groups. After his stunt dozens of messages of support flooded into his Facebook account. One of them read: "I know you won't read this but I'm writing it anyway.

"You are amazing. Well done."

Activist's passionate fight to give people their freedom

WAITING anxiously for news from China, Brian Thom said he was "extremely proud" of his son's stance on human rights.

Speaking from the family home in Muir of Ord, near Inverness, Iain's father said he had received a text from him since his arrest and had no reason to believe he had been treated inhumanely by the Chinese authorities.

"I am very proud of him. He is passionate about their human rights. I take my hat off to him.

"He has taken up the cause and wants to highlight it to the world."

Mr Thom said his son's interest in Tibet had been sparked as a student, and that he had visited the region shortly after graduating two years ago. He said he was aware of his son's protest plans before he left for China but did not try to stand in his way.

"He was so passionate about it I couldn't say don't do it. In fact, I wholeheartedly backed him.

"He set out to achieve something, and he has done that."

Iain's father, mother, Bettie, a district nurse, and younger sister Aileen, 21, were first alerted of his detention by the Students for a Free Tibet.

Mr Thom added: "An hour later we got a text from him to say he was well and he had been detained and they were looking after him. My wife and myself are worried about him, but we are sure he is safe and the Chinese will treat him fairly and we hope to see him soon."

Mr Thom recorded a statement while making his protest, suspended from a lighting pole.

He said: "I'm a long-term Tibet supporter and I feel that now is a really critical time for Tibet.

"We did this action today to highlight the Chinese government's use of the Beijing Olympics as a propaganda tool."