CITY GRINDS TO A HALT AS PROTESTERS ADD TO THE CLIMATE OF CHAOS
THE Cop26 summit got off to a chaotic start yesterday as delegates were left queuing for up to two hours in the cold to get in.
It came as the M8 and M74 motorways through Glasgow ground to a halt, causing chaos for motorists.
On the M74, queues stretched for at least five miles from the city centre all the way to Lanarkshire. An accident on the M8 caused huge tailbacks through the city centre.
Drivers also faced further inconvenience in the afternoon when the Erskine Bridge over the Clyde was shut due to a protest involving the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior.
It came as an embarrassing strike by rubbish collectors and street cleaners over pay went ahead in Glasgow.
The delays began at 9.30am as a huge swell of delegates formed ahead of the security checks outside the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Blue Zone, where only UN accredited individuals are allowed access.
Around 25,000 delegates are scheduled to attend the summit in Glasgow, with around 10,000 expected daily at the SEC.
Emergency workers also struggled to get through despite repeated pleas from security staff for the crowd to move over. It is thought the delays may in part have been due to tight security. One woman, who had travelled from Italy, said: ‘I don’t think they should have had us waiting like that together before the security checks because a terrorist attack could happen in that area.’ At one point during the wait, high winds ripped a Cop26 banner from a nearby structure, prompting a gasp from the crowd below.
Meanwhile, a US delegate who had come from Chicago said: ‘It’s terrible, it feels pretty chaotic.’ She said she was in the crowd with representatives from Russia, the Maldives and Nepal who were held up and missed meetings.
Labour Glasgow MSP Pauline McNeill said: ‘These scenes won’t fill anyone with confidence.’ The
Erskine Bridge was also closed after Greenpeace ignored police warnings that Rainbow Warrior did not have permission to head up the Clyde.
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: ‘It was considered the safest option for the crew of the Rainbow Warrior and wider public was to ensure the safe passage of the vessel to its destination.’
Meanwhile, police were called to the Clyde Arc after two ten-yearolds were seen abseiling in a bridge protest. A man, 45, and a woman, 43, were arrested for putting the pair in ‘immediate danger’, as neither was wearing a lifejacket.
The Cabinet Office said it was working hard to reduce venue delays. A Cop26 spokesman said: ‘We are working closely with our partners to minimise wait times.’
On the refuse strike, a city council spokesman said: ‘The agreement struck at national level gave two weeks to consider the pay offer and so there is no reason for this strike to go ahead at this time.’