Islanders take South Uist ferry cancellation protest to Glasgow

People marched through Glasgow on Saturday to protest about the South Uist ferry cancellations

Hundreds of people have marched through Glasgow to protest against the cancellation of an island's ferry service

People living on South Uist were left "beyond crisis" after CalMac cut this month's sailings from Lochboisdale to Mallaig on the mainland.

MV Lord of the Isles, which serves the route, was redeployed to Islay due to ongoing repair issues with the fleet.

The Scottish government said it was working to support those affected.

But protestors called for compensation to be given to islanders.

The march through Glasgow city centre followed a demonstration in South Uist earlier this month which saw hundreds of locals turn out.

• Lochboisdale ferry cancellation has left islanders 'beyond crisis'

• Islanders protest against ferry cancellations

• Uist ferry disruption 'worse' than lockdown impact

Calum Steele, a former general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation who is originally from South Uist, was one of the people taking part in the Glasgow march.

He told BBC Scotland it was "long past the time" for the Scottish government to consider supporting islanders.

He added: "Businesses have been let down by CalMac and a shocking ferry service for far far too long,

"When you look at some businesses in South Uist which are heavily reliant on tourism, they make their money in the summer months to sustain them through winter - if you lose that it will have a significantly pernicious and profound effect over the winter.

"But it is not just tourism that is affected."

The MV Lord of the Isles, which normally travels between Mallaig and Armadale and Mallaig and Lochboisdale, was redeployed to the Islay route as its ferry the MV Finlaggan entered dry dock for an overdue service.

The Lord of the Isles is expected to return to the Lochboisdale route as planned on 1 July, according to the latest available CalMac update.

Scottish transport minister Fiona Hyslop said: "We recognise the impact of the disruption that island communities are facing, especially in South Uist.

"We are working hard to explore what more we can do to support the communities and businesses affected. "We are continuing to invest in our ferry services and we will have six new vessels in the network by the end of the parliamentary session."