Call to boost port security in west

THE Scottish Government is facing calls to reverse its policy of cutting port police numbers in the west of Scotland, after the threat of a mainland terrorist attack from Northern Ireland was named as one of Britain's top security threats.

The Scotsman recently revealed that justice secretary Kenny MacAskill had slashed the number of police in Dumfries and Galloway's ports unit from 48 to 38 in the past year as part of the "peace dividend" with the end of the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Sources within the tobacco industry and police believe criminals from Northern Ireland are increasingly using ports such as Stranraer to smuggle counterfeit "cheap white" cigarettes - made abroad below British standards - into the UK mainland. Recent checks on packets by the tobacco industry revealed 30.8 per cent in Scotland were illegal products, up 10.5 percentage points from 2009.

Pressure to restore the number of officers in the unit increased yesterday when the government revealed that an attack from dissident terrorists in Northern Ireland had increased significantly and was now a "tier one" threat.

Labour's shadow justice secretary Richard Baker said: "They were wrong to reduce our defences against those who want to smuggle goods, like illegal tobacco or drugs. Now we learn that the threat from paramilitaries is also increasing."

But a Scottish Government spokesman suggested there would be no review.

He said: "The level of ports policing at Stranraer and at other ports and airports across Scotland is established following an detailed assessment of need by Scottish police forces."

He added that there were 14 more police officers in Dunfries and Galloway since 2007, now up to 511.