THE actions of police officers at Cop26 came under fresh scrutiny today when both the force’s chief superintendent and government ministers faced questions.

Politicians in Holyrood wrote to the police demanding answers about officers’ targeting of socialist and left-wing protesters in Glasgow over the past week, which has included the use of kettling and intimidatory tactics. 

In the letter to Chief Superintendent Mark Sutherland, divisional commander of police in greater Glasgow, Green MSPs Ross Greer and Maggie Chapman questioned the kettling of protesters during Saturday’s march through the city. 

Dozens of activists, including some minors, were held for hours and at least two were arrested. 

Similar tactics had already been used during an Extinction Rebellion protest in Glasgow last week, with reports that journalists were trapped and access to food, water and toilets cut off. 

Mr Greer and Ms Chapman wrote that they were concerned by a number of incidents of “what appears to be disproportionate policing of those exercising their rights.”

They demanded explanations, including as to the arrest of a march steward who was later released without charge.

At Holyrood, Ms Chapman also put the issue to Justice Secretary Keith Brown, who replied that the incident was an operational matter for police, but that he was satisfied that officers’ actions had been proportionate.

Earlier this week, the Morning Star reported disruption and aggression by police at the Baile Hoose occupation in Glasgow, where peaceful workshops and accommodation are being provided to people who have travelled to the city for Cop26. 

The Green MSPs also questioned why the officers, reportedly from England and Wales, had been allowed to disrupt and attempt to violently break up the occupation without informing Police Scotland. 

The incident saw a number of campaigners express fear as 23 police vans descended on the site without warning in the early hours of the morning and officers tried to force their way inside. 

Police Scotland insisted that the force’s reports had been accurate and that policing was “completely transparent in respect of deployments and engagements with protesters.”

A spokeswoman said that no raid had taken place at Baile Hoose and that officers were simply checking an insecure door. 

Police were disappointed with the suggestions to the contrary, she said, claiming that any intervention had been made on public safety grounds.