MICHAEL HOWIE AND GERRI PEEV

Key points

• G8 Protesters apply pressure to march past Gleneagles hotel
• Hotel protected by security fence stretching one mile from premises
• 20,000 people expected to turn up for protests in Auchterarder

Key quote
"World leaders obviously have the right to security but they don't have the right to be insulated from the voice of protest" - Alex Salmond, SNP leader

Story in full THE police officer in charge of security at next month's G8 summit at Gleneagles has given the green light for protesters to demonstrate next to the fence erected to protect world leaders.

John Vine, Tayside's Chief Constable, said protesters would be free to demonstrate along the perimeter fence provided they did not break the law. Speaking on Channel 4 News last night, he said: "You will be able to go there and you will be able to have your protest as long as the protest is peaceful and within the law."

Perth and Kinross Council has refused to grant permission for a march past the hotel, saying public safety would be put at risk. Instead, the council has said it will allow a rally for up to 4,500 people in nearby Auchterarder on the opening day of the summit.

But protesters say as many as 20,000 people could turn up and insist police should allow them to march past the hotel itself.

The fence, which extends one mile from the hotel, is costing 1 million to erect.

Josh Brown, spokesman for protest group G8 Alternatives, said: "No matter what happens, there will be thousands of people who go to Gleneagles. We want to take responsibility for having organised events on the day. If John Vine invites us to march past the gates, we would definitely welcome that. We will continue to apply pressure on the authorities to be able to march past Gleneagles.

"If there is not an organised march then people will end up going there in an unorganised fashion. What we are saying is, it's in the interests of the police as well as the global peace movement that the march is organised. We want the day to go smoothly. We want people to look back and say that was the day people in Scotland took a historic step towards alleviating poverty."

It also emerged last night that one G8 Alternative activist was quizzed for three hours by detectives seeking intelligence on potential troublemakers.

Speaking on the Channel 4 News report, a campaigner known as "Ash", who set up the G8 Alternatives website and helped to make a video called Why Close The G8? outlining the reasons for protesting at the summit, said: "They wanted to know people, dates and when they thought I had first met everyone and stuff like that, and what had led me to start protesting."

Mr Vine said he had been encouraging police officers to share information on protesters. He said: "I would hope, certainly, there is no suggestion of heavy-handed tactics. I do think in a proportionate way it is important we know what protesters' intentions are."

Meanwhile, Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, urged ministers to overturn the ban on a protest outside the hotel, claiming it was "perfectly possible" to secure the site without the "ring of steel" fence.

At a London press conference, with veteran campaigner Tony Benn and Stop the War officials, Mr Salmond argued that Scotland's long history of peaceful protest was being ignored by the ban.

"It is a very bad decision because people have the right to protest," Mr Salmond said.

"World leaders obviously have the right to security but they don't have the right to be insulated from the voice of protest."

And he warned that the consequences of having tens of thousands of people turn up on 6 July could be far worse than keeping them at a designated site.

"It is a whole lot easier to police an organised protest ... My fear is that people will turn up anyway," he said.

However Bob Geldof, the organiser of Live 8, branded the idea of a protest at Gleneagles as "ridiculous". He poured cold water on Mr Salmond's call for the demonstration to take place on the same site as the world leaders were meeting, saying it did not matter whether the protesters were "1,000 miles away or 1,000 yards".

"It's a ridiculous protest; everybody knows there are security issues," he told Sky News.

EVENING EVENT

THE Live 8 concert at Edinburgh's Murrayfield stadium will take place in the evening, organisers confirmed last night.

"Edinburgh 50,000: The Final Push", which takes place on 6 July, the first day of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, is due to start at 7:30pm, with the gates opening at 4pm.

It is understood that the star-studded event will also be beamed to other venues, including Ibrox and Parkhead in Glasgow.

The free concert will also be broadcast on BBC Scotland online, television and radio.