Scottish Parliament launches legal bid to oust IndyCamp group

The Scottish Parliament said the group did not have permission to camp outside Holyrood

The Scottish Parliament has initiated legal proceedings to have a group of independence campaigners removed from their Holyrood camp.

The IndyCamp Live group were served with a notice to quit the camp by 17:00, but have vowed to stay put.

The campaigners say they plan to keep their camp outside the parliament manned until Scotland is independent.

A spokesman said the group did not have permission to camp on parliament land, and legal proceedings will now begin.

The camp was set up at the end of November, with founders describing it as a "continuation" of the Democracy for Scotland vigil which campaigned for devolution for five years in the 1990s.

'Court proceedings'

However parliament chief executive and clerk Paul Grice said there had been "a gradual increase in the size and scale of the camp", and there were now "sufficient grounds to pursue a legal remedy to the situation".

Sheriff's officers visited the camp on Tuesday and posted a notice ordering the campers to leave by 17:00 on Thursday. Campers responded by saying they were "going nowhere" and vowed to fight for the right to continue their vigil.

Shortly after the deadline passed with the campers still in place, a spokesman for the Scottish Parliament confirmed legal proceedings would now begin.

He said: "We note that the period given to the campers to remove has passed without them complying with our request. Accordingly, as we stated in our letter, we are raising court proceedings for recovery of possession and we have arrangements in hand."

Sheriff officers visited the site and posted a notice instructing the group to leave