A GROUP of protesters have "seized" Edinburgh Castle claiming they are acting lawfully under the Magna Carta.
Edinburgh Live was told by one eye-witness that as many as 30 people had stormed the capital landmark.
Police Scotland also confirmed that they have a presence on the scene with officers "engaging" with those who claimed to have taken the castle.
Edinburgh Evening News reported that the group were anti-lockdown protesters who claimed that "high treason" has been committed.
In a 13-minute video shared by the Scotland Against Lockdown twitter account the woman filming can be heard saying: "We have seized Edinburgh Castle.
"We're waiting to restore the rule of law. We're doing this peacefully and we're doing this lawfully.
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"We are using article 61 of the Magna Carta. We have had enough. The people of Scotland have had enough and today we claim our power back.
"The government has been acting treasonous against we the people."
Sharing the video, the Scotland Against Lockdown campaign wrote: "Sovereign Scots lay siege to take back Edinburgh Castle under Common Law, to remove and expose the corrupt political and admiral system". It also asked for people's support.
The police arrive later in the video and speak to those filming.
The Magna Carta, the first version of which was signed in 1215 by King John, has no standing in Scots law.
Article 61 originally gave a set of 25 barons the right to "assail" the monarch to keep to the document's provisions. However, it was repealed within a year of being written and the clause not included in subsequent versions.
Nevertheless, the claim that "article 61 of the Magna Carta" gives people the right to ignore lockdown regulations has been popular amongst Covid sceptics since early in the pandemic.
Fullfact found the claims to be "all incorrect".
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Officers are currently in attendance at Edinburgh Castle and are engaging with a group of people who have gathered within the Castle grounds.”
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