A small group of 20 independence campaigners camped in the grounds of the Scottish parliament calling for a fresh referendum are facing eviction, on the day chosen by Alex Salmond as the date to formally declare Scotland was the world’s newest state.



Members of the self-styled IndyCamp Live, a cluster of six tents, a caravan, a mobile home and awnings set a hundred metres from the Holyrood chamber, will appear in court to fight against an eviction order sought by the Scottish parliament on Thursday – the day identified by the then first minister in 2014 as independence day.

They started their round-the-clock vigil last November, some travelling from as far north as Elgin near Inverness, even as the Scottish National party was enjoying record levels of support and now Scotland’s dominant political force.

One camper, who would not give his name but described himself as an Indyvigilist, said they would fight eviction: “All we want to do is keep independence to the front of the Scottish people’s political psyche. We can’t allow apathy to set in.”