POLICE Scotland have responded after a viral social media video showed officers detaining a man for wearing a T-shirt in support of the stop-motion animated character Morph.
On Saturday, August 16, hundreds of people marched through Glasgow as part of a “National Palestine rally” organised by the Stop The War coalition.
After the protest, video circulating online showed two Police Scotland officers detaining one member of the public wearing a T-shirt stating: "Plasticine Action: We oppose AI generated animation".
The garment included an image of the Aardman character Morph, but its design was modelled on T-shirts in support of the Palestine Action, a protest group proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Government in July.
Supporting or being a member of Palestine Action can be punished by up to 14 years in jail, and hundreds of people have been arrested across the UK under suspicion of breaching the terror laws.
The video on social media shows officers stopping a man on Glasgow’s Saltmarket. As one officer holds him by the wrist, a passer-by asks: “Have youse not got better things to do with your time?”
The detained man, still being held by the wrist, then tells the person recording that the officers are giving him “advice” and “it’s fine”.
Earlier in August, the Scottish Human Rights Commission warned that people’s right to freedom of expression was at risk due to Police Scotland’s handling of Palestine protests.
The National asked if the force believed that its officers had infringed on the right to freedom of expression by detaining someone for wearing a t-shirt reading "Plasticine Action: We oppose AI generated animation".
A Police Scotland spokesperson responded: “Officers engaged with a number of people during a demonstration in Glasgow on Saturday, 16 August 2025.
“No arrests were made and we have not received any complaints.”
The Scottish Human Rights Commission, asked about the incident, pointed to their intervention earlier in August in which they had warned of “potential human rights violations in the policing of peaceful protesters”.
On Sunday, The National reported on activists who had received daily visits from Police Scotland officers after being charged under terror laws for allegedly supporting Palestine Action.
However, one activist, Moira McFarlane, said three officers had come to her home after midnight one evening – despite the fact she has never been arrested or charged for anything.
In London, reports said that one activist was arrested and then de-arrested on August 9 after police officers noticed that his shirt was in support of “plasticine action” and not “Palestine Action”.
The UK Government has stood by the proscription, on Monday warning Irish author Sally Rooney that she risked breaching terrorism laws if she funded the group.
