POLICE were called to MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville's office in Dunfermline this morning after a Dunfermline man protested against Theresa May.

The protest was carried out by Shawn Conway, who lay on the floor and rested his head against a pillow in the Dunfermline MSP's Chalmers Street office.

Ms Somerville said Mr Conway's behaviour was "not appropriate", as two police officers attended the incident at around 11.15am.

Dunfermline Press:

The 26-year-old said his actions were in the wake of the European Commission's reclassification of cannabidiol (CBD) - which is sourced from hemp - as a Novel Food.

It means that CBD and hemp-derived food supplements cannot be legally sold within Europe.

Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant.

Shawn told the Press: "They (the police) were happy with the validity of the protest and they gave me a reference number and information.

"I've now also got an incident number. This isn't the end, it's the start. This is the seed planted and hopefully people now have a platform to put forward their concerns about the future of the hemp industry in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

"It's a very important and vital industry. It's been providing valuable food stuffs for the people of Scotland for over 1,000 years. The fact it's criminality is now only just in question, it screams corruption from the very top.

"It's saved my life.

"After doing some research, I found CBD which is naturally presented in the hemp plant. It's not psychoactive and it's not a drug that can be used for recreation. I thought it was in line with my moral standing, so I thought I'd give it a try.

"I tried and since then, I've went from having 40 spasms a day, to maybe two a week. That's purely because of CBD.

"I don't take anything else now. I've stopped taking the medicine that was giving me side effects.

"It works. Over 500,000 in the UK would tell you that it works.

"I think people deserve the freedom of choice to self medicate providing what they're using is harmless to them and has no side effect. Hemp fits that bill."

He added that he chose the Dunfermline MSP's office because it was a public building and he was simply exercising his right as a citizen to carry out a peaceful protest.

Commenting, Ms Somerville said: “My staff and I are already dealing with Mr Conway’s enquiries, and are awaiting a response from the UK Government on the issue he raised.

“I’m all for people making their views known, however, carrying out a protest in this manner in my constituency office is not appropriate.

“Many vulnerable people visit my office on a daily basis seeking help. Being confronted by an incident like this could be intimidating and prevent them from accessing an environment that is meant to be a safe space”

“I am grateful for the assistance provided on this matter by Police Scotland and their response."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police in Dunfermline were made aware of a man staging a peaceful protest at an address in Chalmers Street on Tuesday 12th February.

"No crime was committed and the male subsequently left the area upon completion of his protest.

"No further police action was required."