Face of Nation : In Scotland, demonstrations – which will take place in Lerwick, Kirkwall, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow – will be addressed by SNP, Labour and Green politicians.
Similar protests are expected to take place across the UK. In London, crowds will gather in front of Downing Street. Meanwhile, left-wing group Momentum is calling on its members to “occupy bridges and blockade roads” in conjunction with the protests.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged MPs to join the demonstrations and oppose the shutdown of Parliament as he prepared to address a rally on Saturday.
It follows multiple protests in London, Edinburgh and other cities on Wednesday, which took place within hours of Mr Johnson announcing his plans – hundreds of protesters gathered in Westminster chanting “stop the coup” and carrying anti-Brexit placards and EU flags. The wave of protests is in objection to the prime minister’s plan to suspend Parliament – a process known as proroguing – for five weeks, ahead of a Queen’s Speech on 14 October.
Michael Chessum, national organiser for Another Europe is Possible – the group behind the protests – said: “We are witnessing the birth of a huge movement to fight for democracy and oppose Boris’ Brexit agenda.
“It’s uniting. Many people are just outraged at Johnson’s attempts to shut down Parliament. The crowds are angry, energetic and hopeful, and are taking matters into their own hands.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams, of Police Scotland, said: “We are aware of a number of planned protests. We will liaise with anyone wishing to organise lawful, peaceful protest and police these events appropriately.”
The Jo Cox Foundation, which was set up in the wake of the Labour MP’s murder in 2016, warned that anger over Brexit “should not spill over into something more dangerous”. It said: “People have an absolute right to protest, whether in Parliament, on demonstrations or in the media.
“We believe strongly in freedom of speech. But we would urge everybody to avoid saying or doing anything that could incite or lead to violence.” Further mass demonstrations, organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, are planned to take place on Tuesday to coincide with MPs returning to Westminster.
