An elderly British army veteran poppy seller said he was punched and kicked as he left Edinburgh Waverley station over the weekend as pro-Palestinian protesters converged for a huge sit-in.
Jim Henderson, 78, was selling poppies in the station ahead of Remembrance Day when he decided to leave because of the large crowds.
Henderson, who served with the army in Northern Ireland as part of the Royal Corps of Signals, 32 Signal Regiment, said he was set upon as he left, an act which has already attacked criticism.
“I was getting shoved backwards, in danger of falling, and one of them stood on my foot and split my toe,” he told Mail Online. “So I thought I had got to get the money out of here.
“So I went down, and as I bent down someone punched me in the back.
“And then I got another punch in my side.”
He said three members of railway staff ultimately came to his rescue and shoved the attackers away.
Henderson added: “I’ve never known anything like it. Chanting. Saying it’s all about the British government.”
Jim Henderson as he appeared at Edinburgh’s Waverley Station volunteering for Poppy Scotland before he was attacked (Twitter)
File/ Signals veteran Jim Henderson pays tribute to those who died during war as they visit the garden of remembrance in Princess Street Gardens on November 4, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Poppyscotland confirmed to the BBC Henderson had been volunteering for the group at the time he was attacked.
A spokesperson for the charity said:
While we respect the rights of people to protest within the law, the safety and welfare of our volunteers is of paramount importance.
One of our volunteers was infringed upon when trying to clear his stall to depart at the usual time of 15:30 at Waverley Station on Saturday November 4th.
Our volunteer is safe and well, and we thank those that took the time to escort him out of the station.
BTP Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said: “Detectives from British Transport Police are investigating a reported assault at Edinburgh Waverley Station on Sat 4 November.
“We are working with ScotRail regarding the investigation.”