A PROTEST against a meeting of a Glasgow pro-Israel group saw a dramatic escalation today after one of its organisers was “mistakenly” arrested.

Glasgow Life, the city council’s arms-length charity which operates the Glasgow Concert Hall, came under fire last week after it emerged they had allowed the Glasgow Friends of Israel to hire the venue for a private meeting.

A spokesperson for the charity argued they would take “a neutral and service-led approach to all parties,” as they had for the “Gig for Gaza” last year.

The response was two separate protests, first by Art Workers for Palestine at the Buchanan Steps outside the hall as the meeting got underway, and a second by Glasgow Gaza Emergency Committee (GGEC), who have regularly rallied at the location since the Israeli onslaught on Gaza began.

Arrested last year at a rally outside Barclays bank, GGEC’s Mick Napier had initially faced bail conditions banning him from the city centre — conditions since overturned by a sheriff.

However, Police Scotland still arrested him as he arrived, handcuffing him and bundling him into the back of a waiting riot van.

To chants of “let him go,” the van was soon surrounded, with two protesters lodging themselves beneath.

An hour-long standoff ensued, punctuated by scuffles as officers attempted to tear down flags, posters and rip a washing-line of red-splattered baby’s clothing out of the hands of protesters.

Chants of “who do you protect?” were silenced when activist John Hilley, after negotiations with Mr Napier’s lawyer, announced that Police Scotland had accepted “they made a mistake.”

A cheer went up as he told protesters: “Mick is going to be de-arrested.”

Emerging from the van a few minutes later, Mr Napier told supporters: “This was a wrongful arrest, but we must remember why we are here.

“We’re here against genocide, we’re here because children are starving to death as we stand here.

“It’s all public, there’s nothing hidden.

“Starmer’s given them a green light, Trump’s given them a green light, and beautiful children are starving to death in Gaza, now!

“In Palestine, the worst among us are killing the best among us, and even here the worst among us are oppressing the best among us. 

“We will not give in!”