THEY are the two sisters who became the sweethearts of the independence movement when pictures and film of them defiantly displaying a saltire in Glasgow’s George Square – and refusing to be intimated by Unionist louts – went viral.

A year ago Sarah Johnson, 20, and her then 16-year-old sister Sophie stood their ground as anger and unrest erupted around them. They were spat at and had beer thrown over them by a drunken mob of No campaigners.

Today they will return to George Square amid a different atmosphere, where they will address the thousands gathered for the Hope Over Fear rally.

“The main point is that the so-called ‘Vow’ has clearly not been delivered,” said Sophie, now 17, adding that the time could be right for indyref2.

“We still have a proper mandate for a second referendum. Nothing has happened since, apart from a surge in SNP followers.

“A lot of people seem to have changed their minds because of the inaction from Westminster.

“I feel that with Cameron and Osborne’s cuts just now people are seeing what’s really going on in Westminster and they’ve taken an interest. Purely having a Tory government should be enough for us to have another referendum as soon as possible.”

Sarah said: “People have lost faith in Labour as you can see from the General Election results. We really need to keep the momentum going, keep pushing for another referendum.”

Sarah is the quieter of the two, but that doesn’t mean Sophie is loud. It is, however, difficult to imagine them standing up to a baying, drunken mob in a crowded square 12 months ago. “Yes supporters were being pushed around by the Unionists and there were people blocking the road, lying down draped in the Union flag,” said Sarah. “That was the point where we stood up with our saltire.”

Sophie said: “There was a police barrier separating the Yes and No sides and the police were going into the square trying to take out the Yes people and put them on the other side.

“The Unionists were throwing smoke bombs across to the Yes side and shouting “rule Britannia” and “no surrender”.

Neither sister felt any fear during the confrontations. “The scariest thing was the horses – not the people,” said Sarah. “We were refusing to be intimidated at the square – that’s what they were trying to do. We told them if they wanted to speak to us to sit down and speak. However, they threw beer at us, spat at us – we were verbally abused and they tried to steal Sophie’s flag.

“The police asked us to move and we said, ‘Sorry, but we’re not going to move at this point’ – and then they arrested us.”

In the minutes that followed the sisters being escorted away by officers, pictures and video of the incident were posted on social media. By the time they were taken to a police station, the images had gone viral.

“The first I heard about it was when I was having my fingerprints taken and one of the police officers was telling me he had seen this video of me and it had millions of hits online,” said Sophie. “I had absolutely no idea. We didn’t find out about the picture until the next day when we logged into Facebook – and it was crazy. Everybody was asking where we were and where we’d been and posting this picture.

“We had no idea that was going to happen.”

“We didn’t intend to do anything like that,” said Sarah. “We went down with the intention of standing in the square with the Yes supporters and that was just how things developed.”

Events in the run-up to the referendum and its aftermath have galvanised the sisters’ interest in politics.

“I’m going into my fourth year of uni now and in my social sciences subjects I’m going to specialise in politics. My dissertation will be linked to Scottish politics,” added Sarah.

Sophie said: “I’m still at school and I’ve just finished by Modern Studies Higher – that went very well, but I’ll continue to take an interest in politics, reading the news, going to demonstrations when I can and just engaging politically with peers and friends, and even teachers.

“I was one of the first 16-year-olds able to vote and independence was the talk of the school. It was brilliant – everyone was debating with each other, teachers debating with students and so on. Modern Studies was the best subject to be in, it was brilliant. People still seem to be interested so the momentum has not been lost.”

Both Johnsons believe that momentum will lead to indyref2.

“Possibly not in the forthcoming term at Holyrood but hopefully by the next term in 2021 – unless the Labour Party radically change and manage to get elected,” said Sophie.

Her sister said: “The political future is bright for Scotland – the political landscape completely changed after the referendum and people are really interested in politics now.”

Sophie has her future mapped out and plans to go to university next year to study history. After that she hopes to work as a teacher in a Spanish-speaking country.

Sarah said she wants to open a “Scottish-themed hostel” after she finishes her politics degree.

“I saw one in Cambodia on my travels this year where they hosted events which raised money for poverty-stricken children in the area,” she said. “I want to do the same but raise money for Scottish food banks and local charities... and I plan on saving up for it over the next few years.”

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