POLICE are investigating an offensive banner depicting Nicola Sturgeon as Adolf Hitler.
The banner was found tied to the railings close to Bute House, the First Minister’s official Edinburgh residence. Photographs of the banner were shared widely on social media, with local residents calling it “appalling” and “obscene”.
The poster shows the SNP leader with a drawn-on Hitler moustache and reads: “Herr Sturgeon for Fuhrer.
“Ve vill keep Scotland in Lochdown until ze UK gives ME vot I vont!!!
“Vote for me, to kill the economy.”
READ MORE: Banner comparing Nicola Sturgeon to Hitler appears near Bute House
The former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said she condemned it in the “strongest terms” – but Tory MSP Murdo Fraser questioned why officers would investigate “some offensive banners and not all of them”.
Sharing a picture of pro-independence marchers holding a banner stating “Tory scum out”, Fraser said “surely both of these despicable messages should be treated the same”.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "On Thursday, June 25, police received a report of an offensive banner at Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. Officers attended and the banner had been removed. Inquiries are ongoing."
The poster was put up the day Sturgeon revealed steps to ease Scotland’s lockdown restrictions would come later in July.
The moves, including reopening restaurants and bars, will happen after Boris Johnson does the same in England.
The First Minister has acknowledged she has eased the lockdown more slowly than the Prime Minister has done in England, but rejected the idea of entering a “reckless race” with other parts of the UK to get the country up and running again.
The SNP leader has consistently stressed the need to put safety first in reopening the economy and getting Scotland back to some kind of normality.
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