Snap-unhappy security - 'Tourists are likely to be pounced on'

Published on Monday 18 October 2010 11:10

From the Castle to the views from Calton Hill, Edinburgh must be one of the most photographed cities in the world.

Few visitors leave without recording their personal memories by taking pictures of their favourite spots.

But what would happen if one tourist, impressed by the striking window displays in the city's most exclusive shopping street, decided to take a snap to show the folks back home what the city has to offer?

The answer, judging by the experience of one amateur photographer, is pretty disturbing.

They are likely, it seems, to be pounced on by up to four security guards and marched off the street as if they were planning a robbery – or even a terrorist attack.

Tourism bosses must have cringed on learning of the antics of security staff on Multrees Walk who have done just that to one visitor.

And you have to wonder what the shop involved, Firetrap, or its famous near neighbour, Harvey Nichols, thinks of the heavy-handed action taken on their behalf.

Sadly, this is just part of a wider trend which sees the innocent taking of photographs in places that are to all intents and purposes public spaces as sinister.

The owners of Multrees Walk say their ban is necessary to protect stores from the threat of ram raiders, who have struck there on a number of occasions in recent years, and correctly point out that it is technically private property.

But is this really a reasonable and proportionate response to that threat? Are CCTV cameras and metal bollards not a more effective and sufficient line of defence?

It is a sad sign of our times that the street's owners clearly do not think so.

Spend to an end

Scotland's new tourism boss, Malcolm Roughead, is clearly not a man to duck a challenge. He may face an uphill battle trying to prise cash out of the public purse right now to help new airline services get off the ground.

But he is right to set his sights high and his idea is a good one. Carefully targeted grants could create enormous benefits for the Capital if they could get valuable air links to the Middle East and north America off the ground.

Public funds may be in short supply, but that does not mean all spending is bad.