INDEPENDENCE supporters gathered outside the Scottish Parliament this afternoon demanding action on self-determination.

The event, organised by pro-independence blogger Peter A Bell and the White Rose Rising group, was organised to take place outside Holyrood on the day MSPs returned following summer recess.

Inside the Chamber Nicola Sturgeon was making a statement on the SNP’s co-operation agreement with the Greens.

National columnist George Kerevan and convener of the Scottish Currency Group Tim Rideout (below) were among those to speak at the event, which was entitled Union No More.

The National:

Speaking before the rally Bell said while he wants “immediate” action on indyref2, the event was not against Holyrood ministers.

“We are not demonstrating against the SNP/Scottish Government,” he wrote. “It is a demonstration against the Union.

“We are merely demanding that our government act to rescue Scotland from being absorbed into the latest iteration of the ‘Greater England’ project.”

The National:

Bell has called for the programme for government – now due to be set out next week – to include a “firm undertaking to assert the competence of the Scottish Parliament in all constitutional matters relating to Scotland in preparation for the Scottish Parliament authorising a referendum on the question of the Union on a date to be announced before Thursday, September 30 2021”.

The National:

Further footage and images will be posted from the event later today.