The Scottish Labour Party's student wing has refused to apologise to police after calling them "B******s" in a tweet on Monday.
Scottish Labour Students (SLP) wrote: “To be clear: ACAB” in a post on Saturday, prompting harsh criticism from the Scottish Police Federation and Conservative politicians."
— A Closer Look (@Acloserlook1993) September 14, 2020
SLP Chair Mariam Shaaban retweeted the post, adding: "It's ACAB today, tomorrow and every day after that". The abbreviation, often seen in graffiti and tattoos, stands for 'All Cops are B******ds'.
— ERPT SPC (@ResponsePSC) September 15, 2020
The organisation deleted the "ACAB" tweet and issued an apology on Tuesday, - but only to activists at a Trans Pride march in London on Saturday, which it claimed was "shut down" by police.
"We have deleted a prior Tweet as it snowballed to itself becoming the story," the new tweet read. "Its original point was to show support for London Trans Pride attendees in the face of police shutting down the event."
"We are sorry our clumsy use of language obscured the real issue and apologise to our trans comrades who have our support now and always."
— Scottish Labour Students (@ScotsLabStudent) September 15, 2020
— Scottish Labour Students (@ScotsLabStudent) September 15, 2020
Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard condemned the student body's "outrageous statement" on Tuesday, pointing out that some of his own relatives have served in the police force.
— Richard Leonard (@LabourRichard) September 15, 2020
That was after Scottish Police Federation General Secretary Calum Steele threatened to boycott the Scottish Labour conference in future in a Monday tweet.
— Calum Steele (@CalumA_Steele) September 14, 2020
On Tuesday Steele welcomed Leonard's comments as well as other messages of support from senior Labour figures, adding he had received a "personal apology" from the Scottish Labour leader.
— Calum Steele (@CalumA_Steele) September 15, 2020
— Calum Steele (@CalumA_Steele) September 15, 2020
Shaaban drew fire in March when she celebrated the news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
