A JOURNALIST at The National was threatened with arrest by a police officer while attempting to cover a major protest outside a Glasgow arms factory.
Prior to dramatic clashes between the police and protesters at the Thales site in Govan, reporter Xander Elliards – who was standing roughly 100m from the demonstration - was confronted by an officer who claimed he was being “obstructive to the police”.
During the confrontation recorded by Elliards – which took place in a public street - the officer claimed he didn’t have “free roam to go about protest sites” and suggested he could be arrested under Section 20 of the Police and Fire Reform Act.
@scotnational A journalist at The National was threatened with arrest by a police officer while attempting to cover a major protest outside a Glasgow arms factory #scotland #protest #gaza ♬ original sound - The National
At one stage Elliards was grabbed by the officer who then suggested “let’s get a selfie big man” before asking the reporter to move around the corner.
As Elliards attempted to move around the corner, the officer continued to follow him saying: “Are you still not going to take a direction from a constable in uniform?”
Elliards described the officer as “aggressive” adding he repeatedly refused to identify himself or explain what he had been doing to warrant an arrest.
Police Scotland said an officer asked Elliards "to move away from an area where officers were taking part in an operational briefing" and "no further action was taken".
He said: “I was threatened with arrest and manhandled for doing my job, as far as I can tell.
“I was reporting on the protesters blockading the Thales arms factory in Govan, when one aggressive officer took issue with me being there.
“The police officer in question – who appeared to have some level of authority – repeatedly refused to identify himself or explain what I had been doing to warrant an arrest.
“As he threatened me with arrest and ordered me to leave the area, he suggested I was ‘obstructing’ his work as a police officer, and repeatedly cited Section 20 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.
“How I was doing this is a mystery to me, as I’d been at least 100m from the protest – and he came jogging up to me to engage.
“I was shocked to be treated this way by a member of the police, and other people in the media who have seen the incident I recorded on my phone have also expressed disbelief.”
The officer also suggested Elliards did not have the right to take pictures of police vans in a public street, which he had not been doing and is not illegal.
Elliards added: "Clashes between the police and protesters at the demonstration started around 20 minutes after this officer had threatened me with arrest and tried to get me to leave."
At the demonstration, police arrested four people. Six officers were injured, including one who was bitten on the arm.
Two officers attended at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, one was discharged after treatment and the other remains there for further assessment.
Police were seen grabbing protesters, pinning them to the ground, and pushing them away from the Thales site amid shouts of “thugs” and “who killed Sheku Bayoh”.
The protest had been peaceful for more than five hours after activists first arrived to blockade the two entrances to the Thales factory at around 5am on Wednesday morning.
The demonstrators were marking the 1948 Nakba – when approximately 750,000 civilians were displaced from Palestine – and calling for an end to Israeli arms exports amid the risk of genocide in Gaza.
Thales produces the Watchkeeper drone, which is developed with Israeli arms company Elbit Systems.
Regarding the protests, Chief Inspector Derrick Johnston said: “We have a legal duty to protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest as well as those affected by protest activity, however officers were met with an unacceptable level of hostility and resistance today.
“One of our officers was bitten, assaults are not part of the job and will not be tolerated, and we were fortunately able to arrest the individual responsible.
“When policing any protest our priorities are to ensure the safety of protestors, the public and police officers involved as well as preventing criminal behaviour or disorder and deescalating tensions.
“We are committed to protecting the rights of people who wish to protest, however when this is not done peacefully, officers are required to maintain public order and will exercise their powers of arrest if necessary.”
Regarding Elliards being confronted by the officer, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “During the protest an officer engaged with a journalist and asked him to move away from an area where officers were taking part in an operational briefing. Officers provided advice and guidance and no further action was taken."
