Protesters gather outside Holyrood over Covid restrictions

Hundreds of protesters opposed to coronavirus restrictions have gathered outside the Scottish Parliament.

Protesters marched to the parliament building in Edinburgh with flags and placards for the Scotland Against Lockdown protest, organised by the Saving Scotland Facebook group.

Once the group arrived at Holyrood, they began chanting and making speeches which criticised lockdown measures.

A post advertising the event said: “Lockdown is causing more harm than the virus. We stand for the freedom to choose.

The protest took place as the Scottish Government released the latest Covid-19 statistics showing 997 people had tested positive for coronavirus in the past week – the largest weekly increase since May.

A total of 2496 people confirmed as having the disease have died in Scotland, while the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 now stands at 21,189.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We were aware of a demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh during the afternoon of Saturday, September 5.

“Officers attended and provided a proportionate response. No arrests were made and the gathering has now dispersed.”