POLICE Scotland has been accused of stifling democratic protest after asking an anti-austerity campaigner to reveal his plans for challenging Jim Murphy.
Sean Clerkin, who forced Iain Gray to hiding in a sandwich shop in the 2011 Holyrood election, met officers last week to discuss direct action against the Scottish labour leader.
A detective inspector and constable invited Clerkin to a meeting on Tuesday.
The half-hour encounter was secretly filmed and will be posted on Youtube tomorrow.
The officers did not ask Clerkin to stop protesting, but said it would help "public safety" if he shared his plans in advance to avoid a police call-out and possible arrest.
Clerkin, 54 a former SNP council candidate who lives in Murphy's East Renfrewshire seat, asked if his plans would be shared with Labour.
The officers did not deny it, but said the decision would be taken by their superiors.
Clerkin said police "interference" could have a chilling effect on legal protests.
"There's a real danger of Police Scotland interfering in the democratic process.
"The point is to surprise politicians and challenge their hypocrisy over austerity cuts.
"The Labour party are trying to control everything. They don't want real Scots in front of them challenging their policies. They're abandoning the basics of democracy."
Police recently stepped up security at Murphy's campaign events.
Superintendent Jim Baird said: "Police Scotland is policing the election appropriately and proportionally so we can keep people safe during the campaign and poll.
"As part of this we facilitate peaceful protest and meet and work with individuals and groups as part of that process and to ensure there are no surprises to them in the policing response as a result of tactics they may wish to use.
"We will not comment on the details of any individual meetings. "
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