Nicola Sturgeon has said she has “concerns” about a police operation that saw women having to walk through a dark park while part of Glasgow was cordoned off for a glitzy COP26 event.
Diversions were put in place around Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow on Monday evening as heads of state gathered for a welcoming reception.
Local residents took to social media to describe how they were forced to take long detours through the park to reach their homes due to road closures.
One person told how they had come across a young student in tears because she had to walk through the park alone.
She wrote: “We were sent away from one exit to the main gate, then told we had to do exactly that detour to get to Partick.
“On the way found a first year student in tears because she was in the same position and had had a man following her through the dark path; a male police officer.”
Police apologised for the situation.
Asked about the diversion plan, the First Minister said: “I have seen reports of that this morning. I’ll certainly speak to the police about the circumstances of that. It won’t surprise you to hear that I would have concerns about any suggestion that women were put into, what even they would feel was a position of not being safe.”
She added: “Women’s safety, at all times, but particularly in light of recent concerns, is paramount. So if there is even a perception that women were put in a position where they weren’t safe, I know the police would want to make sure that that wasn’t something that happened again.”
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: “Residents were diverted on their way home, including on foot through Kelvingrove Park, following real-time changes to operational plans on Monday night.
“While late changes and some level of disruption is inevitable when policing an event the size and scale of Cop26, we understand and apologise for the concern these changes caused and for the inconvenience to those diverted.
“We do, in particular, recognise and acknowledge the commentary from some women who had to walk through the park on their own last night, we want to keep everyone safe and we know that the onus is on us to recognise when we could provide some more support and visibility to reassure people in our communities.
“The diversion is no longer in place and there are no plans to reintroduce it. Should further diversions be required at short notice for operational purposes, we will look to establish additional patrols in the area to provide reassurance.
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