A CONTROVERSIAL nationalist agitator has threatened legal action against the first female Scottish Parliament presiding officer over comments directed at him after he torched a Union Jack to demand Scottish Independence during a demo at Edinburgh beauty spot Arthur’s Seat.
Sean Clerkin from Action for Scotland and others joined in in the ceremony to place a flag in a metal bucket before being burnt so it did not damage parkland, and it took several attempts to light.
Tricia Marwick, who was presiding officer for five years till 2016 and who stepped down as an MSP at the last Scottish elections, reacted to the burning on social media saying: "Sean Clerkin is not, and has never been a good person. He represents no nationalist I know.
"He is a narcissist bampot. The media knows this but persist in giving him the publicity he craves. Why?"
Mr Clerkin and others from Action for Scotland have been demanding border closures with England to stop the spread of coronavirus - staged the demo at Arthur's Seat.
In July the serial protester, campaigner and nationalist activist defied a call by Nicola Sturgeon not to protest on the Scotland-England border.
The protest was set up to demand separation from the "rogue British state" and called from the Scottish Government to bring forward the Scottish Parliamentary Elections.
It also took aim at the UK Government's refusal to extend the furlough scheme, as well as the prospect of a no deal Brexit.
Sean Clerkin, 59, said: "I burn this Union Jack, this butchers apron that has championed slavery, empire, and the destruction of whole cultures including our own and we are saying to all the people of Scotland to throw off the yoke of colonisation and to be a free nation again.
"The Union Jack represents the past and a free and independent Scotland represents tomorrow."
Mr Clerkin has now talked of legal action in the wake of the comments of Ms Marwick, the current chairman of NHS Fife, saying: "She said I was not and never have been a good human being. And that I was a narcissist bampot. Well, sorry to say I am going to sue her for defamation of character and defamation of reputation.
"I don't know who Patricia Marwick is, I have never met the lady, I don't know how decent she is. Because I wouldn't comment on her character, because I don't know the lady.
"An email and letter will be sent this week, unless she apologises to me and gives a donation to a homeless charity of her choosing. Otherwise we will be going to court.
"I will not take being told I am not and never have been a good person. Nobody can say that about another human being unless they know them, unless they have dealt with them."
Mr Clerkin has a history of protesting and publicly confronting high profile politicians.
He was a leading member of prominent hardline Scottish independence group Scottish Resistance before beinn banned over a “racist” banner displayed by protesters outside the SNP conference hall in Edinburgh, last year.
The banner said “England get out of Scotland”.
Scottish Resistance said at the time that Sean Clerkin was suspended following his "stupid statements" to the press and responses to other members in the group "where he is known as Mr Marmite".
Mr Clerkin, who is known for chasing former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray into a sandwich shop in 2011 said in response to the controversy: "The banner displayed at the SNP conference is not racist and is not anti English.
He also challenged former Tory leader Annabel Goldie ahead of a Conservative campaign event.
Jim Murphy and Labour-supporting comedian Eddie Izzard have also been subject to a Clerkin surprise.
In 2017 he disrupted a Holyrood committee when he wanted to give evidence on a petition on the bedroom tax he submitted.
READ MORE:Nationalist agitator to lead new border Covid-19 protest in defiance of Nicola Sturgeon
He has also filmed himself making videos challenging politicians. In one of the videos, he sat in a dark room and said he was "throwing down the glove of challenge" to then Labour leader Johann Lamont to face him in a debate.
In March, the Barrhead activist was thrown out of the Scottish Parliament after a protest during First Minister's Questions.
Mr Clerkin interrupted the session from the public gallery by shouting about budgets for homelessness services.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel