Holyrood unfurls new flag policy

The Saltire will fly outside the Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament has resolved the issue of which flags to fly outside the new building in Edinburgh.

The Saltire, the Union and the European Union flags will fly at all times.

When the Queen visits the Royal Standard will be flown and a fifth flagpole will be erected when a foreign dignitary is at Holyrood.

The Scottish National Party described the new policy, which comes into effect on St Andrew's day, as "a victory for Scotland".

However, Nationalists also said the measures did not go far enough.

Bruce Crawford, SNP MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said the Saltire should be the only flag permanently displayed.

"This is a small victory for Scotland. The Saltire is our national flag and it is only right that it should be flown every day," he said.

The Saltire, the Union and the EU flags will fly at all times

"It should not just be a token gesture, it should be a symbol of pride. The Saltire should be taking pride of place, flying on its own the same way as it does on the back of our boys' tanks in Iraq.

"It is incredible that today the parliament has reduced the number of flag poles from five to three when there are still five spotlights in place.

"It is a waste of taxpayers' money removing these flagpoles just to save more embarrassment.

"The question is what happens now when a head of state from another country visits the parliament and there is no place to fly their flag?"

He added: "This is just plain daft and it looks as though the bureaucrats have taken over the ship."

Flag-flying has been a contentious issue at Holyrood since the scaffolding came down on the new building.