Police Scotland has apologised to women in Glasgow who had to walk home in darkness on Monday night after well-lit streets were blocked off due to Cop26 climate summit security concerns.
Residents near the Cop venue said police guarding the security cordon told them to walk long distances through Kelvingrove Park and sidestreets in Finnieston because main streets had suddenly been closed off.
One woman tweeted that she had been followed by a man who said he was a police officer despite requesting he leave her alone. Others said they had been told to use longer diversions when their homes were close by.
One Twitter user, Katy, 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 1st 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 …”
Kayleigh Quinn tweeted: “Wow, Finnieston residents currently on the north side of the street who live on the south side of the street being told to walk through Kelvingrove, down Byres Road to Patrick and then back to Finnieston to get to their flat 100 yards away. It’s dark.”
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 1st 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...
— Katy (@confused_katy) November 2, 2021
Wow, Finnieston residents currently on the north side of the street who live on the south side of the street being told to walk through Kelvingrove, down Byres Road to Patrick and then back to Finnieston to get to their flat 100yards away. It’s dark. #COP26
— KayIeigh Quinn (@kayleighmqu) November 1, 2021
Nina Lakhani, a Guardian journalist, said she had the same experience: “I had to walk back through unlit Kelvingrove park, took an extra 30 minutes and was damn dangerous with the wet leaves. I asked a cop how I was meant to get home, and he suggested I come back the following day!”
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said women’s safety, particularly after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met police officer, was 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,” she said.
Assistant chief constable Gary Ritchie said Monday night’s diversions, which affected Argyle Street and Dumbarton Road, two major thoroughfares, were imposed at short notice due to “real-time changes to operational plans”.
They would not be reintroduced, and the force would talk to Glasgow city council about improved lighting in Kelvingrove Park, he promised. He implied his officers would be reminded about their duty to ensure public safety in such situations.
“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,” Ritchie said.
“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.”
