£4m boost for war on terror

DOZENS more counter-terrorism officers will be recruited in Scotland after ministers handed police chiefs an extra £4m to tackle the threat of Islamic extremism.

Almost a year after the attack on Glasgow Airport, the additional funding is intended to boost security at ports and airports, as well as helping police do more work with minority communities to boost awareness of terrorism.

The Scottish Government is also working with the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland and other key agencies to develop a Scottish approach to preventing terrorism as part of the UK counter-terrorism strategy, Contest.

The £3.8m extra will help fund more than 50 new counter-terrorism jobs north of the border. It will focus on areas such as improving communications and improving knowledge and understanding.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "As last year's attack at Glasgow Airport showed, terrorism respects no boundaries. Terrorism is a threat to all of our communities. We all need to work together to reduce the threat of another terrorist attack.

"These additional counter-terrorism officers will help to make our ports and airports more secure and allow the police to work with communities to raise awareness of terrorism and related issues to make Scotland a safer place."

Opposition MSPs gave a mixed reaction to the move.

Bill Aitken, the Scottish Tory justice spokesman, said: "The Conservatives have been calling for a dedicated border security force at our ports and airports, and this announcement is a move in the right direction.

"But terrorists and terrorism do not respect internal UK borders and should be combated across the UK in partnership between Scotland's two governments and two parliaments."

Labour's justice spokeswoman, Pauline McNeill, said: "The attack on Glasgow Airport showed that terrorism has no respect for borders. The first duty of any government is to secure the safety of its people We welcome additional resources to the police for the creation of 50 new counter-terrorism posts."

Counter-terrorism is an element of national security, which is reserved to Westminster, but many aspects of prevention and management of the consequences are devolved, as police funding and criminal law are matters devolved to Holyrood.

Since 2003, Contest has been the UK framework for countering terrorism, and the Scottish Government plays a prominent role in delivering the Contest strategy in Scotland.

Unlike in England, there remain doubts about exactly how much is being spent in Scotland on funding counter-terrorism.

Home Office figures show that it spent £472m in the last financial year on counter-terrorism in England and will spent an additional £240m over the next three years.

To match spending levels, the Scottish Government would be expected to spend around one-tenth of that figure – some £50m – but officials have revealed they allocated just £12m in the last financial year.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said that, unlike in England, chief constables in Scotland allocated money for counter-terrorism from their own budgets.

However, police forces refuse to say how much they spend, claiming the figures are confidential, making it impossible to compare spending on counter-terrorism in Scotland against England.

Muslims have sought assurances that the new funding will not be directed at creating an anti-Islamic "terror industry."

Osama Saeed, the chief executive of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation, said: "We are, of course, supportive of any measures that are needed towards our safety. What we have in the past cautioned against is the creation of a 'terror industry' in Scotland that would need to find work to do in order to justify its existence.

"We'll be seeking assurances from the government and the police that these 50 posts are proportionate and necessary, as there have already been issues around the level of questioning at airports and surveillance on the ordinary activities of young Muslims."