The presiding officer of the Scottish parliament has been forced to clarify that suffragette colours “are not, and never have been” banned on the Holyrood estate after a woman wearing a purple, green and white scarf was removed from a meeting of the equalities committee.
Alison Johnstone – the Holyrood equivalent of the Commons speaker – issued a statement later in the day describing the action by security staff on Tuesday morning as “an error” and apologising on behalf of the Scottish parliament.
