A young woman claims she was "followed" by police officers after protesting against the monarchy in Edinburgh.
Niamh McNulty says officers followed her through the streets of the capital after she held up a blank piece of paper during an anti-royalty rally on Tuesday as the Queen's coffin left Scotland. The young protester filmed the moment she confronted the two officers on Barony Street who said they were making sure she wasn't being "disorderly".
Sharing the video on her Instagram, Niamh wrote: "Today I held a blank piece of paper on the Royal Mile then went home. Police then followed me all the way to Claremont."
The footage appears to show two police officers following Niamh from a distance.
It then cuts to her speaking to the cops, asking them: "Here, are you following me? Just stopping when I'm stopping, walking when I'm walking?"
The officers do not appear to deny they are following her, with one responding: "We're just following...we're just making sure there's no disorder in the city centre today, that's all."
Niamh replies: "Even if I'm just going home you're going to follow me all the way to my home?
The police officer asks: "Where do you stay?"
Niamh responds: "I'm not going to tell you where I stay if you are going to follow me there."
He replies: "We are just making sure there's no disorder in the city centre."
She challenges the officers, adding: "What am I going to do by myself? I was just holding a white piece of sign earlier. That's so disorderly.
The police officer says: "No, we are just making sure there's no disorder, that's what I'm saying."
Niamh asks the two officers: "Now you're going to follow me, a young girl, home by myself. You don't see why that's a bit scary for me?"
One of the policemen asks Niamh for her address, but she declines to tell them where she lives.
He says: "If you tell us where you stay we'll let you go."
Niamh adds: "I'm not going to tell you where I stay. Well you can follow me home then. I'm going to film you while I'm doing it, ok."
She is not believed to have been arrested. The Record has contacted her for comment.
The video has been watched more than 65,000 times on Instagram and shared on Twitter.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the social media post and its content is being assessed.”
The video has reignited debate about the right to protest in the wake of several arrests in Edinburgh last week. A 22-year-old woman was arrested outside St Giles' Cathedral in connection with an alleged breach of the peace.
A man was also charged after slurs were allegedly directed at Prince Andrew while he walked through the streets behind his mother's coffin. At least three other people were arrested across Sunday and Monday in connection with public order offences.
London lawyer Paul Powlesland filmed a confrontation he had with police in Parliament Square in which he was told he would commit a public order offence if he were to write an anti-royal message on a blank piece of paper he was holding.
Protesters, including Niamh, are believed to have been expressing their right to protest by holding their own blank sheets of paper during their Royal Mile protest on Tuesday.
Civil liberties groups have called on police to ensure that any action is carried out with respect to the public's right to express their opinions.
Naomi McAuliffe, Scotland programme director for Amnesty International, said earlier this week: “It’s incredibly important that at all times – even those of national mourning – that the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest are upheld. No one should be arrested for peacefully expressing their opinion."
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