TOURISTS at Holyrood Palace appeared baffled when independence campaigners unfurled an ‘England Get Out of Scotland’ banner outside the Royal residence.
Sean Clerkin of Action for Scotland and his fellow activists displayed the sign outside the Queen Elizabeth House UK government hub in the centre of Edinburgh.
And they then took the banner to the Palace, which is the residence of the monarch in Scotland.
But Mr Clerkin – who was arrested and charged for displaying the same sign in 2020 before the case against him was dismissed – said it was not anti-English.
Some visitors to the Palace looked shocked to see the sign.
But he insisted unfurling it was not a hate crime – even though he suspects cops might charge him under new legislation introduced earlier this year.
Two Police Scotland officers were seen speaking to Mr Clerkin before the banner was first revealed at the government offices near the Capital’s Royal Mile. And they stood back and looked on as it was displayed.
Officers were not visible when the sign was briefly displayed at Holyrood.
Mr Clerkin was not arrested, but he said he suspects he will be visited by cops at a later date.
He said: “I expect a hate crime incident to be reported.
“I do expect to be taken to court and for this to be tested in court.
“It’s not an offence. If it was an offence it would be ‘English Get Out of Scotland’. That would be racist.”
Mr Clerkin said he was in solidarity with working class people down south – and not anti-English.
He added: “The new Labour unionist government has cut the winter fuel payments for English people as well as Scottish people. We are in total solidarity with working class people south of the border.
“They will always be our friends. I’ve got English relatives that live in England and English relatives here in Scotland. And they are in total accordance with what this banner is about.”
Mr Clerkin says the sign is a protest against his view that Scotland is a dependent colony “dominated” by institutions of state such as Westminster, the Bank of England, the BBC, the Ministry of Defence and the English monarchy.
He added: “That’s why we’re here today to pull this out.”
Clerkin, of Barrhead, Renfrewshire, had previously posed for pictures with the banner at the Scotland-England border and at other points across the country.
He took to the roads with it when England’s Covid cases were higher than they were in Scotland.
Airport bosses acted when Mr Clerkin posed with the banner and he was arrested at his home, in September 2020 on suspicion of committing aggravated breach of the peace.
But the case was dropped eighteen months later.
Mr Clerkin was mocked online in 2020 for trying to burn the Union Jack in Edinburgh.
Scotland’s new hate crime law came into force in April.
Critics say the legislation could harm free speech.
But the Scottish Government insists the law provides protection from hate and prejudice without stifling individual expression.