ALAN Cumming has backed a campaign to stop Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) from banning photography on Glasgow's Subway.

The Scots actor tweeted a link to Picture Our Subway, a group set up by city photographer David Bennett, who has branded the proposed bylaw "draconian".

If the ban goes through it could see people who shoot photos or videos on the network hit with a £1000 fine.

Mr Cumming, who is in Glasgow rehearsing for a National Theatre of Scotland production of Macbeth, also pledged to post a photo taken in the Subway on every day of his stay as a protest.

His pledge came after the official Glasgow Subway Twitter account retweeted a picture Mr Cumming had posted of himself on the Subway, prompting critics to question how SPT can justify their proposed ban.

Mr Bennett, 28, who lives in Partick, set up the campaign on Saturday and has already received more than 2000 hits to his website, which urges people to take part in the consultation process which ends on June 15.

He said: "We can't believe that the Subway's own Twitter is retweeting pictures of people on the Subway – how can they do that while proposing a ban?

"Banning photography on the Subway is draconian."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie lodged a motion in parliament saying that the ban would give a "poor impression" to tourists.

Photographer and member of Woodlands and Park Community Council, Derek Manson-Smith, 68, called the move "utterly bizarre".

He said: "The Commonwealth Games are coming and there's going to be thousands of tourists who ride the Clockwork Orange and if they take a photo they'll get given a fine? What is their justification for this?"

However, a SPT spokeswoman admitted that the proposed ban might be dropped.

She added: "The proposed byelaws were written when there were concerns over security following attacks on the London Underground and at Glasgow Airport."

rachel.loxton@ eveningtimes.co.uk