Police forensics lab still out of action week after firebombing

Detectives who are hunting two men in connection with the attack at the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) laboratory in Howdenhall have also made a new appeal for information.

A masked man was seen running from the scene last Thursday and into St Katherine's Brae before getting into a small dark-coloured car driven by another man, which sped off.

Police say they are keen to speak to anyone who was in or around the nearby BP service station in Liberton Gardens before the fire.

Detective Sergeant Mike Leask said: "So far, the response to this very serious crime has been excellent, with a number of members of the public coming forward with information that is now being investigated. Nevertheless, we have yet to locate the men believed to be responsible and are again appealing to any members of the public with information."

The man seen running from the scene is described as being around 5ft 6in and of thin build. He was wearing a dark top and mask.

The building suffered extensive smoke damage but only two rooms were affected by fire. The SPSA said that neither of them were key scientific laboratory facilities.

So far it has had to outsource two urgent biology cases to the SPSA lab in Glasgow and 13 priority toxicology cases are being sent to a lab at Glasgow University.

A clean-up operation has been under way at the offices and staff will soon begin carrying out tests on technical equipment.

They should have a clearer idea by tomorrow of when the lab will be back in operation, which they hope will be some time in March.

An SPSA spokesman said: "We don't anticipate that there will be any specific problem with specific court dates. We hope drugs analysis will be back up and running by the end of the week."

The Howdenhall facility is one of four labs providing forensic support to Scotland's police and prosecutors. Up to 60 staff work at the Edinburgh base and it carries out around 20 per cent of the total forensic work across Scotland.