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A “tartan tat” ticket tout has defied a ban by selling Royal Military Tattoo tickets on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

Malap Singh, 52, went to war with police after they disrupted his trade, posting a video on Facebook to brand the officers as “jokers” and boasting: “Still trading, business as usual.”

Singh sells the tickets knowing event organisers might turn away his clients, many of whom come from overseas.

Tattoo organisers strictly forbid resale and insist ID is produced by ticket buyers.

Wheeler-dealer Singh, a member of the wealthy Singh Gold family, whose shops sells Scots memorabilia, later admitted to the Record he gets bumper batches of tickets for sold-out shows from tour guides on cruise ships, which he has flogged on the day of each performance.

It is illegal for any ticket resellers in the UK to sell briefs without making such restrictions clear from the outset.

(Image: YouTube)

In his defiant video, Singh is told by one officer that he does not have a street trading licence to sell the tickets for the grand parade of military bands, which are a big annual attraction for pensioners in particular.

He shouts at the three officers: “You’re a bunch of jokers. That’s five times this week. You stand and say I’m allowed to buy tickets. I pick up the tickets from here and I sell them from the shop.

“Have I got any tickets on me?”

Singh speaks directly to the camera and says: “I’d just like to say Edinburgh Police are clowns.”

After posting the video on Facebook, Singh received a hail of criticism.

Chris Still said: “You are parasitic scum. You’ve lost your way but you’ll never get it. Everything is “just business”. Soooo greedy.”

Katrina Stewart said: “Shut up mate you have just made a prat of yourself. Your lucky you weren’t lifted TBF.”

(Image: EPA)

On the Royal Military Tattoo website it makes it clear that resale is not allowed. It states: “If a ticket is resold or offered for resale by anyone other than The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo or one of its authorised agents (as part of a package) it will become void and the holder will be refused entry.

“The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo also reserves the right to blacklist buyers found to be reselling or offering tickets for resale. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes resale or attempted resale on the internet.”

Singh’s business, which is done at the last minute, sees him picking up the unused tickets for a song then trying to offload them for around face value or more if he can get it. He quoted our reporter “around £55” for the briefs, which range from £25 to £90 face value.

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In 2008, following a long-running dispute, Singh was fined £350 for punching rival trader Geoffrey Nicholsby, who was 62, in the face.

Nicholsby later sold his business to family members Dildar and Surinder Singh Gold, who own several valuable properties on the Royal Mile.

In 2011, Singh’s company was fined £4500 after his Abercrombie Cashmere store on the Royal Mile was caught selling “Scottish”

woollens that were actually made in China. He and brothers Surinder and Galab, who have been in business for more than 30 years, were caught in a Trading Standards sting.

In 2010, police ordered a clampdown on people trying to cash in on the Tattoo after the Royal Mile was flooded with ticket touts.

At the time, Malap Singh was quoted in a paper saying: “We will buy any spare tickets and sell them on. There is huge demand for them. The event is a sell-out and it’s an easy way to get a ticket.

“I’m not asking for any more than the ticket price, as that would be ticket touting. The police have warned me about that and told me not to carry a placard around, but there are lots of people selling tickets every night.”

When the Record called Singh, posing as a punter and asking if we could buy tickets for the sold out performance on Wednesday night, Singh said he could sort us out.

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He said: “Police are clamping down on street touts and I don’t have a street trader licence but the tickets are totally legal and you’ll get a refund if you don’t get in.

“I get them from the tour guides, so none of my tickets have names on them.

“If they have a name on it they can refuse you if you don’t have ID to match. I’m getting them very cheap. If I get a cruise liner coming in they sell me them very cheap and I can’t get a refund because they come in late. They usually have 30 or 40 tickets.

“I’ve been doing it for the last 15 years.”

A Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo spokesperson said: “The Tattoo only sells tickets through its official website, box office and authorised travel partners. We work hard to ensure the event is affordable and it’s always disappointing to find tickets being sold at inflated prices.

“We receive returns and tickets will often be available on the morning of a performance so we’d urge visitors to contact the Tattoo’s official box.”