Shotgun shell parcels and threats get son of 'tartan terrorist' six years in jail

Published on Thursday 18 June 2009 23:13

THE son of a man dubbed "the tartan terrorist" has been jailed for six years for a parcel bomb campaign against politicians to draw attention to his father's imprisonment.

Adam Busby snr has been detained in Ireland for more than a year and his son – also Adam, 34 – feared his father would die before trial, a court heard.

Approaches to the First Minister, Alex Salmond, and others had no success, and Busby jnr decided on an alternative course of action. While sitting in a bar in Paisley, he issued warnings to the media that parcel bombs had been sent on behalf of the Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA).

The next day, two packages containing shotgun cartridges were intercepted. One had been addressed to the English Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles, and the other was delivered to Glasgow's city chambers.

Lord Brailsford told Busby yesterday that, although only hoax bombs had been involved, his crimes were "disturbing and very serious" and should be punished accordingly, and that had it not been for Busby's guilty plea at an early stage, the jail term would have been nine years.

Busby snr, the self-styled commander of the SNLA when it was formed in 1980, fled Scotland in the mid-1980s to live in exile in Dublin.

He was jailed for two years in 1997 for sending menacing faxes to Scottish media, and last year he was charged with phoning Northern Constabulary alleging a bomb was under a bridge, and with sending e-mails to airlines saying that aircraft had bombs on board. He remains in prison in Ireland.

Tony Lenehan, counsel for Busby jnr, told the High Court in Edinburgh that Busby snr had a degenerative illness: "The accused was of the view that his father may simply die in prison before these proceedings had concluded.

"He initially tried what was an appropriate approach of contacting elected representatives. This issue mushroomed in his mind and dominated his thinking. Then, he decided it was appropriate to take this other course of action."

Busby jnr, of Morar Drive, Paisley, admitted charges of breach of the peace, possessing ammunition, and sending an item by post with the intention of inducing others to believe it was likely to explode or ignite.

The advocate-depute, Neil Beardmore, said Busby was in the Imperial Bar in Paisley on 12 March.

"Several journalists from separate media organisations received anonymous telephone calls informing them that six explosive devices had been sent through the post, and that four of these devices were intended for the First Minister Alex Salmond, Mike Rumbles MSP, the Scottish National Party headquarters in Glasgow, and the city chambers of Glasgow City Council," said Mr Beardmore.

"The caller refused to identify the intended targets of the two remaining explosive devices. On each occasion, the caller used a recognised codeword and claimed that the planned attacks were the work of the Scottish National Liberation Army."

In the early hours of the following morning, staff at the Royal Mail sorting office in Aberdeen noticed a padded envelope addressed to Mr Rumbles in Banchory. It contained two shotgun cartridges and a note: "Just because you can't see us doesn't mean we're not there: next one's a bomb!"

Later the same morning, staff in the mailroom of Glasgow's city chambers became suspicious of a padded envelope addressed to the council but to no particular person. Police were called, and opened the package.

It contained a shotgun cartridge and a note, reading: "You are a target for death, regards SNLA."

Busby jnr is currently serving a nine-month jail term for possession of a knife. In 2001, he received a six-year sentence for petrol-bombing a house in Paisley.

Lord Brailsford said the intended recipients and those who had to handle the packages would not have known they were hoaxes, and that live ammunition was an obvious risk.