Holyrood slams vandalism to Spanish Civil War stone in Motherwell - and flag will be flown soon

The motion had been submitted by MSP Clare Adamson after the Duchess Park-based memorial to the 11 brave men from Lanarkshire who died in the Spanish Civil War was defaced with vile slogans.

The Scottish Nationalist said: "I am grateful to my Parliamentary colleagues for supporting this motion. The actions of these vandals were abhorrent; we stand united in opposition to hateful ideologies.

"My thanks once again must go to the local residents who took it on themselves to clean the memorial. The people of Motherwell and Wishaw value inclusion, kindness, and respect for our common humanity."

Meanwhile an academic at Stirling University has echoed that view while stressing there is an ongoing issue with similar memorials in Spain itself. Dr Matthew Kerry who teaches European History said: “I find the desecration of a monument to the dead appalling, but also depressingly unsurprising in the current context of numerous culture wars and a belligerent far right.

"It is sickening to write “Franco” on the memorial, when he was responsible, together with his supporters, for approximately 150,000 deaths in the repression behind the lines. It is, however, gratifying to see how quickly volunteers have cleaned up the memorial.”

Meanwhile the No Paseran Committee who erected the stone in the first place are ready to mark the eighth anniversary of this commemorative gesture but this can only go so far.

Spokesperson Andy Jones said: “We were hopeful that an easing of restrictions this year would allow us to hold our usual memorial but unfortunately this will not be possible. North Lanarkshire Council have advised that they are unable to permit such gatherings in their parks and open spaces.

“We would like to ask all our comrades and supporters to remember these brave volunteers at this time. As in the previous two years NLC will fly the flag of The Spanish Republic from the civic centre from Thursday, July 15 to Tuesday, July 20 as part of our remembrance.”