Sturgeon condemns 'racist' border protest but refuses to confirm if SNP will take action

Nicola Sturgeon has condemned “racist” border protests in which nationalists urged English visitors to stay out of Scotland - but refused to commit to kicking any participants out of the SNP.

At the weekend, a small group of masked protesters gathered at the border, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, and wore hazmat suits in reference to England’s higher number of coronavirus cases.

They displayed a banner saying “keep Scotland Covid free”, with one claiming the group was there to “protect the border” against infection. Another was filmed saying the protest had been set up to tell people from England to “stay the f*** out.”

In response to questions at her press briefing in Edinburgh on Monday, Ms Sturgeon strongly condemned the protest, insisted English people were welcome in Scotland and said she did not believe the demonstration would damage Scotland’s reputation.

She said anti-English sentiment was “not what my party is about” and that she agreed with Humza Yousaf, her Justice Secretary, who branded the event "horrible, reprehensible and vile” and called protestors “racist” and “morons”.

However, she was criticised by opponents for taking 48 hours to publicly condemn the event, and for refusing to commit to taking action against any participants who were SNP members.

Some flew SNP flags at the event, and The Daily Telegraph understands that a protester confirmed to a journalist from another outlet that SNP members had taken part.

Asked whether there would be an investigation, and if any SNP members who took part would be kicked out of her party, Ms Sturgeon said: “I can’t stop people waving SNP banners.”

She added: “I can be very clear that they don’t speak for us. I’m not going to speak about internal disciplinary arrangements in the SNP, we’ve got well established processes that can be used if necessary.

“I can’t be any clearer than I have been that the SNP is an open, welcoming party. Scotland is an open, welcoming country and that kind of protest is not something I condone or endorse in any way shape of form.”

However, Annie Wells, deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, claimed that “constant attempts to provoke arguments between Scotland and England” had “emboldened racists”.

Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly refused to rule out imposing quarantine restrictions on people who have travelled from England to Scotland on public health grounds.

There are also fears that images of the protest, which have circulated across the UK, could do further damage to the country’s tourism industry by deterring visitors from south of the border.

Ms Wells said: “It took Nicola Sturgeon 48 hours to have a comment about this incident dragged out of her at a press conference.

“She should have immediately disowned those nationalist protesters demonstrating against English people coming to Scotland.”

She added: “The fact is that constant attempts to provoke arguments between Scotland and England is exactly what empowers racists like these.

“SNP politicians should carefully reflect on this the next time they try to provoke these arguments.

“Nicola Sturgeon should also take steps to identify if any of these individuals are SNP members and, if so, expel them immediately.”

Jackson Carlaw, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, described the scenes at the weekend as “an absolute disgrace” and criticised the length of time it had taken for Ms Sturgeon to speak out against the protest.

He said it was "shameful” that it “took a question from a journalist to force her to take some responsibility for stoking division and fear."