Look closely and it’s possible to discern the outline of a new battle brewing between the Scottish and UK governments.

The contention is how to treat those charged with supporting Palestine Action. The group was outlawed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government after members broke into an RAF base and spray-painted planes.

The ban was widely decried as authoritarian for criminalising protest. Headlines were made when elderly protestors were arrested for displaying signs which read: ‘I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.’

The response from prosecuting authorities in Scotland and England is beginning to look quite different.

In England, a statement put out by the Metropolitan Police said the “Crown Prosecution Service and the Attorney General’s Office have been working closely together to process the case files with more prosecutions expected in the coming weeks.

“We have put arrangements in place that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary”.

It noted that “a further 60 people will be prosecuted… This follows the arrest of more than 700 people since the group’s proscription”.

The statement made clear that “the Crown Prosecution Service will bring prosecutions”. Comment was given by Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, who said “many more can be expected in the next few weeks.

“We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made… Palestine Action is now a proscribed terrorist organisation and those who have chosen to........

© Herald Scotland