Ex-Senator Told to Cover T-Shirt at Scottish Parliament Over 'Political' Design
Former Republican Senator Scott P. Brown claims he was asked to conceal a shirt supporting law enforcement during a tour of Holyrood.
Former U.S. Senator Scott P. Brown stated he was instructed to cover a T-shirt during a tour of the Scottish Parliament, with officials deeming its design a political statement. Brown, a Republican who represented Massachusetts, said the incident occurred as he was about to begin a tour of the Holyrood building.
According to Brown, a police officer approached him and requested he cover the shirt, which featured the Thin Blue Line flag and a Spartan helmet. "The political stance is obviously that I support law enforcement, which I do. I was pretty shocked," Brown explained in a video posted on X. He added that he purchased the garment at a bike festival earlier in the summer. Brown stated he complied with the request, saying, "So we just went in and took off after, because it wasn’t worth it," but he still described Scotland as "a beautiful place."
The Scottish Parliament's visitor policy prohibits the display of flags, banners, and political slogans within the building, including on clothing and accessories. Visitors are asked to remove or cover such items before being granted entry. The policy notes that the parliament is a working parliamentary building where protests are not allowed, though visitors are permitted to wear a single small, discreet badge.
This is not the first time visitors have been asked to alter their attire at Holyrood. In 2024, a co-founder of the campaign group Scottish Lesbians was reportedly told to remove a badge due to its perceived partisan message. In 2022, the parliament issued an apology after a woman was removed for refusing to take off a scarf in suffragette colors. Earlier this year, Scottish Greens Maggie Chapman and Kate Nevens faced accusations of an extremist political stunt for wearing pro-Palestine scarves while being sworn in as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), drawing criticism from the Scottish Conservatives for alleged hypocrisy given past objections to suffragette colors worn by women's rights campaigners.