The 64-year-old was part of a group from Stand Up to Racism who had gathered in the city’s Meadows on Friday, August 1.
The woman was surrounded by officers after being injured during the protest(Image: Edinburgh Live)
An elderly woman was rushed to hospital after she was hit by a placard and left bloodied during a far-right protest in Edinburgh.
The 64-year-old was part of a group from Stand Up to Racism who had gathered in the city’s Meadows on Friday, August 1.
They claimed the Great British National Strike was ‘threatening intimidation’. In a clip shared by Stand up To Racism, an individual can be seen throwing a placard. It’s understood that the woman, who was out of the frame, was hit by the sign and left with blood pouring down her face, Edinburgh Live reports.
An image following the video reportedly shows the woman bleeding from the head, while police officers stand round her.
According to the Stand up to Racism group, 250 of their members were at the gathering which saw several of them make speeches before the opposing group ‘disappeared up a side street’.
Police are now probing the assault on Hope Park Avenue at around 9.20pm on August 1. The Great British National Strike was formed by Richard Donaldson. He previously explained his group, stating: “This is a movement about unity. We are the Great British National Strike, and it is a protest.
Protestors gathered in The Meadows(Image: Supplied )
“We stand against illegal immigration, net zero, inheritance tax and the attacks on our farmers, the attacks on our most vulnerable, the lack of inquiry into rape gangs and the attacks on free speech and two-tier justice.”
Opposing the group, Stand up to Racism said: “We are seeing the far-right returning to the streets of Scotland, following violent racist protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers.
“This anti-refugee sentiment has sadly been whipped up by Starmer’s ‘Island of strangers’ speech and the scapegoating rhetoric of far-right Reform UK. After a 250-strong rally that involved speakers from a wide spectrum of the left, anti-racists blocked the fascists from assembling, and eventually the ‘master race’ was forced to disappear up a side street.”
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Councillor Katrina Faccenda, of Leith, commented: “I was proud to stand with the many counter protestors who came on Friday to stand up to the far right.
“The level of aggression from the so-called Scottish patriots was shocking and in my opinion merited dispersal. There can be no equivalence between the lively behaviour of the counter-protest organised by SUTR and the threatening behaviour I witnessed on the other side which culminated in a head injury of an older woman due to an aggressively thrown placard.
“I urge everyone to give short shrift to these opportunists who are trying to take advantage of the difficult times many are facing in Edinburgh – this is not the fault of migrants or refugees but of a system which continues to put profit above people and politicians who are failing to deliver the radical policies needed to change this broken system.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.20pm on Friday, 1 August, 2025, we received a report of an assault at a protest on Hope Park Avenue, Edinburgh,
“Officers were in attendance, and a 64-year-old woman was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment. Enquiries are ongoing.”