Terror expert scaremongering says Harper

Published on Saturday 2 February 2008 10:03

LOTHIANS Green MSP Robin Harper has accused a leading anti-terrorist expert of scaremongering by claiming a terrorist attack on Edinburgh was inevitable.

Head of counter-terrorism for the City of London police, Superintendent Brett Lovegrove, said earlier this week Edinburgh was an "extremely attractive" location for terrorists with the Festival and other major events like rugby internationals as prime targets.

He said last year's Glasgow Airport attack proved Scotland was not immune to the threat of terrorism.

Mr Harper said: "In a speech that was largely sensible, Supt Lovegrove . . . blew it by asserting that 'it isn't a case of if there will be an attack on Edinburgh but when'.

"The Festival, the Tattoo, and the Six Nations are some of Edinburgh's best events. Identifying them as not just potential but definite terrorist targets is, at best, scaremongering."

"Ian Rankin's Mortal Causes centres on a phoney terrorist attack on Edinburgh, and I think fiction is the right place for this kind of story, not police briefings."