Grampian Police has backed down in a clash with the Evening Express,
Aberdeen, over coverage of an unauthorised travellers’ camp in the city.
The dispute arose when Inspector Ian Taggart, Grampian Police’s travellers’
liaison
officer, consulted the procurator fiscal after travellers complained
about an Evening Express photographer taking pictures of the site.
Inspector
Taggart, who considered the coverage “intrusive”, discussed charging
the newspaper with breach of the peace after being told it planned to
continue monitoring the site for rubbish and damage. However, the
procurator fiscal’s office ruled there was no case for a breach of the
peace charge.
Evening Express editor Donald Martin said: “We are not going to be intimidated by these police tactics.
“There has been considerable damage, mess and disturbance caused by travellers on unauthorised sites in the recent past.
“We are well within our rights to monitor this current situation on behalf of our readers.”
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