HOUSING campaigner and inveterate protester Sean Clerkin brought a Holyrood committee to a halt yesterday after claiming he had been denied his democratic right to give evidence to MSPs.
Clerkin had brought a petition to the Scottish Parliament on the so-called Bedroom Tax 2 – the UK Government's plans to cap housing benefit – which could leave hundreds of thousands without enough to pay their rent.
The protester had hoped he would be allowed to give oral evidence to the committee, convened by former Labour chief Johann Lamont, in a bid to persuade them to look at the issue further.
However, that didn’t happen, infuriating Clerkin. Uninvited, he sat down in the witnesses’ seats at the committee table.
Convenor Johann Lamont then suspended the meeting.
After police escorted him out of the building, Clerkin said: “I wrote the petition, I’m the author of the petition and yet I’ve been denied the right to give oral evidence. This is denial of democracy. A denial of my freedom of speech on this issue."
A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament told STV: "A member of the public was escorted from the Holyrood building by police after disrupting the Public Petitions Committee this morning. The meeting resumed after a short suspension of around 10 minutes."
After Clerkin had been kicked out, the committee further considered his petition, and agreed to approach Scotland's housing associations, local authorities, and the Scottish Government to ask for more information.
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