THE charity that looks after the summit of Ben Nevis has condemned the "abhorrent" unfurling of a racist banner at the weekend.

It says it gave no permission for the move and, in a strongly worded statement, insists it never would.

A group calling itself Patriotic Alternative (PA) scaled Scotland's highest mountain on Saturday to display a giant banner saying "white lives matter".

It's understood they were booed by onlookers.

The group seeks the removal of all but white people from the UK.

Today the John Muir Trust conservation charity has condemned the stunt.

READ MORE: Ben Nevis: Witnesses 'horrified' by Patriotic Alternative banner at mountain summit

The organisation says it was contacted by members of the public who were on Ben Nevis at the time.

It understands that a promotional video was filmed there for an "extremist far right group".

In an official statement, the charity said: "We are deeply angered by the actions taken at the top of Ben Nevis over the weekend from an extremist far right group appearing to use the Ben as a backdrop for their abhorrent racist propaganda.  

"The John Muir Trust promotes diversity and inclusion in the outdoors. We did not and would not authorise permission for a film on our land that is counter to our belief that wild places are for all.

"The John Muir Trust has zero tolerance to discrimination, and any actions that promote discriminatory views are not welcome on the land we manage."

Founded in 1983, the trust also looks after Carn Mor Deargand Aonach Beag in the area. It's named after the pioneering Scots naturalist whose work led to the foundation of America's first national park.

As revaled in today's edition of The National, at least 11 people took part in the PA action. A witness told us: "They were standing near the ruins of the observatory at first, gathered together, and then they moved over to the other side of the mountain, unfurled a White Lives Matter banner and took some photographs. It was insane.

"There were two guys from England who saw me pointing, thought I was pointing at them and then when they turned round and saw the banner, they were so disgusted that they started booing.

"I was in complete shock. They only unfurled it for a minute or two before they put it away.

"I was absolutely horrified, usually when it’s the SDL [Scottish Defence League] there’s only a few guys shouting, but this was a big group.

"It’s really not something you expect to see at the top of Ben Nevis."

PA, whose links to the SDL, BNP and other far right groups were exposed in a Ferret investigation, has not responded to an approach by The National. It describes itself as a "community building and activism group" whose work relates to what it calls "the demographic decline of native Britons in the United Kingdom, the environmental impact of mass immigration and the indoctrination and political bias taking place in British schools".