The Reporter was quite amazed this morning to see the number of police vans lined up outside the RBS HQ at Gogarburn. Roads into and out of Gogarburn were closed this morning with a handful of police officers at each set of barriers, and apparently most if not all workers have been told to work from home or stay there.
There is of course much to be said for and against the actual protest. For one thing one has to have a view on extracting energy from tar sands when it is possible that more energy is used in the extraction process than the energy produced. For another it is a fact that everyone is entitled to a view and in Scotland we apparently enjoy freedom of speech.
Against is the fact that the protesters – or a small minority of them – have damaged property in breaking windows at Gogarburn. They have apparently thrown oil at the windows which some poor window cleaner will get the job of cleaning up. According to various reports eight protesters have now been arrested.
But what we at The Reporter are wondering is this….. If RBS is now largely owned by the taxpayer, and if RBS presumably is having to pay for the police presence at Gogarburn……then that means we are paying for the huge security operation does it not?
How much is being paid for the police protection? Well we will have to ask when the event is over. And we shall.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
