European human rights laws are slowing down the Scottish government’s ability to ban pro-life gatherings outside abortion clinics, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed.

Campaign groups have repeatedly called for fast action to introduce 150m (500ft) buffer zones outside clinics.

The Scottish First Minister said that progress was being stalled because any law would have to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. She has previously said that the right to protest is a key consideration when it comes to introducing the buffers.

“On all legislation we have to ensure that legislation is ECHR compliant and when you are, as some people would say, interfering in the right to protest there’s just a complex legal issue that we have to work our way through,” Sturgeon said.