Chamber and committees

In the previous evidence session, Professor Cameron gave us the example of images being projected on to a facility from a distance. I understand that you might not want to talk about specific incidents that have happened in the past but, in general, are your officers currently able to take any action if somebody is projecting images of a fetus or anti-abortion messages—whatever it might be—on to a hospital from a distance? Obviously, buildings have windows, and some of those images would enter the facility.

That is really useful. Thank you.

Thanks. I note your point that the protesters are not qualified healthcare professionals.

Is the situation similar for you, Lesley?

Finally, if there is a protest outside one of your facilities, the threat of a protest or awareness that one might be coming up, what does that mean in practice for you? Do you have to do things differently? Do you have to provide different information to people who are accessing the service? What is the impact on you and your staff? How do you deal with the protest or the threat of one?

Obviously, the issue has been going on for a long time, but it has become much more high profile over the past five years or so. Campaigners initially spoke to the police and local authorities about what could be done locally. The reason why we have ended up where we are is that there is a general belief that the existing law and the powers of councils are not adequate to deal with the issue.

Superintendent Corrigan, will you say a little about the point that, when people have complained to the police in the past, they have received the response that protesters are not breaching any current law and that therefore officers are unable to take enforcement action unless there are very specific behaviours that cross a line?

If protesters arrive outside a facility and there are complaints and your officers are called, how would officers deal with that under the law as it stands? At the moment, it is entirely legal to stand on the road opposite the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in Glasgow or the Chalmers centre and protest but, very regularly, when protests occur, your officers are called. How long would officers attend for, and what would they be looking for? Would they speak to the protesters about what is and is not allowed and leave again? Would they stay for some time? As it stands, protesters can be there for 40 days. I presume that your officers would not attend all day every day for 40 days. What happens when they are called out?

I probably did not word that question particularly well. I appreciate entirely that, were the bill to pass, police officers would be asked to do something that is relatively difficult. However, the point that I was trying to get at is that we already ask that of the police in a range of other circumstances, do we not? Some attempt is needed to understand a person’s intent. The example that I am giving is that you can stand silently outside somebody’s house and it is not a crime but that, if you are doing it as part of a pattern of behaviour of stalking and harassing the individual in that house, that is part of an offence. We already ask police officers to make such judgments in the first instance. Obviously, we then ask the procurator fiscal and the courts.

I will pick up on a couple of Ivan McKee’s questions.

Colin Poolman—my first question is for you and is about the impact on trade union activity, short of picketing. I accept what you said about none of us being able to think of an instance where there has been industrial action at a facility that provides abortion services. However, at other settings in which your members have taken industrial action across the UK, is it common to get complaints from patients about a perceived impact on them on entering a facility if there is a picket line outside?

Professor Cameron, following up on what you said in response to Ivan McKee about the support that is provided, those who engage in protests say that one of their key reasons for doing so is that they are providing a discussion about alternatives to abortion that they do not believe is provided in healthcare settings. Will you expand on your answer to Ivan McKee about the process and the support that is available to women who come seeking abortion or reproductive healthcare services?