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Police intervene as pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt John Swinney at Edinburgh Fringe
First Minister brands Gaza crisis ‘genocide’ following repeated heckling and demands to end arms funding
Police were called to an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Saturday after First Minister John Swinney was repeatedly confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters demanding he declare Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.
Swinney had been on stage at the Stand comedy club in York Place for a live interview with comedian Susan Morrison when activists interrupted proceedings, holding signs and accusing the Scottish Government of hypocrisy over its funding of defence-related firms.
Despite the First Minister’s repeated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and his support for UK recognition of a Palestinian state, demonstrators insisted he “say the word” and condemned the government’s commercial links to companies involved in arms production.
After the event, Swinney told reporters: “It’s quite clear that there is a genocide in Palestine – it can’t be disputed. I have seen reports of terrible atrocities which have the character of being a genocide. That’s my feeling.”
His statement, the first time he has publicly used the term, makes Swinney the second UK national leader to accuse Israel of genocide after Michelle O’Neill, First Minister of Northern Ireland, did so in July.
Audience videos posted online showed activists holding placards depicting malnourished children and clashing with venue staff and police. According to eyewitnesses, the event was disrupted at least five times, with chants of “Call it genocide” and shouts condemning UK-Israel defence ties.
One protester referenced American metal band Disturbed – whose lead singer recently signed an Israeli bomb in a viral photo – and accused Swinney of double standards for criticising Irish rap group Kneecap but not publicly commenting on the former. Swinney defended the support schemes, saying: “We are trying to enable companies to diversify their activities… due diligence checks are applied unreservedly.”
The protest also follows a week of escalating cultural controversy at the Fringe. Jewish comedians Rachel Creeger and Philip Simon were recently removed from the programme at Whistlebinkies, another Edinburgh venue, over alleged “safety concerns”. Both acts have since relocated their shows elsewhere in the city.
In a column in The Scotsman, poet Jenny Lindsay accused the arts world of tolerating the silencing of Jewish voices, saying: “An arts world lacking courage has no chance against activists who are frighteningly relentless.”
Israel strongly denies that it is committing genocide in Gaza, calling its war effort a legal and necessary act of self-defence following the 7 October Hamas attacks, in which 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were murdered and over 250 taken hostage. At least 50 hostages remain in captivity.
The UK government has so far declined to label the war a genocide, maintaining that such determinations must be made by a competent court.
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