Call to ban National Front march

The march is planned for the city's Union Street

A union has called on Aberdeen City Council to ban a National Front march to mark St Andrew's Day.

The local authority is to discuss the event, planned for 28 November, at a licensing committee meeting on Monday.

The public service union, Unison, has written to councillors urging them not to agree to the march, which it branded "fascist".

But the organiser of the National Front in Scotland insisted the march was neither fascist nor racist.

The National Front accused the union of "sticking their noses in where it is not wanted".

Michael MacNeil, Unison regional officer, said: "Our thousands of members living and working in Aberdeen will be abhorred at the thought of the National Front being allowed to parade down Union Street.

'Hate and division'

"They are a racist and fascist organisation whose core philosophy, if you can call it that, is to restrict the rights of anyone they regard as non-white.

"They should not be allowed to march and promote their message of hate and division."

Mr MacNeil added that while the council might feel it had to allow the march under the European Convention of Human Rights, the European law also allowed for restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly where the rights and freedoms of others was under threat.

David MacDonald, National Front Scotland organiser, said: "It is nothing to do with the race issue at all, it is for St Andrew's Day."

St Andrew's Day itself falls on 30 November.

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said: "We have asked the organisers of the proposed march to appear before the committee to answer any questions."