ONE person was arrested on Wednesday as more than 100 demonstrators joined a protest against former White House strategist Steve Bannon outside an international media event in Edinburgh.
Bannon was appearing at the News Xchange 2018 conference where protesters from the organisation Stand up to Racism had gathered outside.
He said populist politics were “catching fire around the world”, and predicted next year’s European Parliament elections would be fought with the same intensity as a US presidential campaign, with the issue of immigration key.
Bannon insisted that the right-wing causes he supported were part of an effort to “give the working-class a chance”, as he argued immigrant labour is leading to lower wages for workers across the world.
His outspoken adherence to right-wing political ideologies resulted in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon withdrawing from the event.
Organisers last month defended the decision to invite Bannon, saying it was their “journalistic responsibility to share and scrutinise a range of relevant viewpoints within the framework of a balanced debate”. But Sturgeon said then she would “not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views”.
Among the protesters outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre was retired electrician Willie Black, who backed the First Minister’s stance.
The 67-year-old said: “He wants to strengthen all the right-wing organisations across Europe. We want to expose how his ideas are dangerous. We don’t want these people to be accepted as normal politicians.”
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