Bonfire Night: 1,700 officers on standby for Scotland's biggest police operation since Trump visit
Police vehicles are being drafted in from 18 forces in England and Wales as Bonfire Night, Celtic v Besiktas and a possible protest collide in Glasgow on 5 November.
A Police Scotland van. File photo. · Photograph: Steven Straiton (CC BY 2.0)
Police Scotland is preparing its biggest operation since Donald Trump's visit last year, as three potential flashpoints collide in Glasgow on Bonfire Night.
As many as 1,700 officers could be deployed on and around 5 November. Extra public order vehicles and drivers are being brought in from 18 police forces in England and Wales under mutual aid arrangements.
A 'unique' combination
The operation, called Operation Amberlight, has to cover three things at once. First, the usual risk of fireworks-related disorder around Bonfire Night. Second, Celtic's Europa League match against Turkish side Besiktas at Celtic Park on the same night. And third, police say they are aware of images circulating online suggesting a protest is planned in Glasgow that evening.
Rather than run separate operations, the force is planning one overarching policing operation so everything is co-ordinated.
'We are not complacent'
Gold commander Chief Superintendent David Robertson said Bonfire Night was one of the busiest nights of the year for the force. He said there had been improvements in recent years, but police were not complacent, and the enhanced plan would see the largest deployment since the President's visit.
Operation Amberlight will strengthen Operation Moonbeam, the annual response to fireworks crime now in its ninth year, which gives local divisions extra specialist support.
Memories of 2023
The worst Bonfire Night disorder in recent years came in 2023, when more than 60 officers were injured across Scotland. In Niddrie, Edinburgh, youths attacked officers with petrol bombs and fireworks, and fire crews were targeted in Glasgow, Dundee, Blantyre and Blackburn.
Firework control zones
Firework control zones come into force in Glasgow and Edinburgh on 30 October. Setting off a firework inside a zone, or throwing one into it, will be a criminal offence. The zones run until 9 November in Glasgow, covering Govanhill and Pollokshields, Broomhouse, Pollok and Glasgow Harbour, and until 8 November in Edinburgh. A separate dispersal zone will operate in Pollokshields from 31 October to 6 November.
For comparison, the policing of President Trump's visits in July 2025, Operation Roll 2, involved 7,340 officers and cost £21 million.