Pro-Palestinian heckler interrupts festival event with Swinney and Drakeford

A book festival event with John Swinney and Mark Drakeford was curtailed after a pro-Palestinian protester heckled the Scottish First Minister as he was on stage.

Towards the end of a discussion event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Tuesday evening a woman stood up in the audience and began shouting at the Scottish First Minister, haranguing him over one of his ministers’ meeting with an Israeli diplomat.

She accused Mr Swinney of giving money through Scottish Enterprise to companies “complicit in Gaza”, calling for Mr Swinney and External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson to resign over the latter’s meeting with Israel’s deputy ambassador.

She continued shouting about the situation in the Gaza strip, saying Mr Swinney and Mr Robertson were “legitimising a genocidal apartheid state”, despite other members of the audience asking her to stop and allow others to speak.

The event’s host, Laura Maxwell, said she had hoped to take more questions from the audience but it was no longer possible.

As the talk ended, the protester was escorted from the venue at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.

Mr Swinney and Mr Drakeford took part in a discussion marking 25 years of devolution in Scotland and Wales.

On Monday, Mr Robertson apologised for meeting with Israel’s deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky two weeks ago, with Mr Robertson admitting the meeting should have been limited to calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Mr Swinney had called on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to “unpick” the Internal Market Act to show good faith to devolved administrations.

He also expressing said Scottish Secretary Ian Murray should not spend a reported £150 million “over the heads” of the Scottish Parliament, ahead of plans for the Scotland Office to have more spending powers.