Police chief in warning on terror powers

SCOTLAND could be left vulnerable to more terrorist attacks if police powers are eroded, the country's leading counter-terrorism officer warned yesterday.

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Assistant Chief Constable Colin McCashey told The Scotsman the threat level remained as high as it was at the time of the London bombings and Glasgow Airport attack, and said any further reduction in police powers would be dangerous.

His warning came as the Home Secretary Theresa May announced a tightening of the rules on stop and searches, preventing officers from using the powers unless they "reasonably suspect" a person of being a terrorist.

While Mr McCashey stopped short of criticising the new Home Office position, he said he would want to be involved in any discussions about future changes to terror laws.

And he said measures such as stop and search and airport body scanners were vital tools in the prevention of terrorism. Given the previous attacks and severe threat level, we need to use almost all means at our disposal," he said.

Mr McCashey was speaking for the first time since his appointment three weeks ago as counter-terrorism co-ordinator for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS).

He said: "The threat has not changed very much in the last five years. The level is severe, an attack is highly likely, we're policing on that basis.

"The attack in Glasgow brought it home that we're not immune. They could be home-grown individuals who want to attack the UK, they could be from other parts of the world, such as Pakistan."

He added: "(Police powers] should not be weakened. I would be wary of reducing the strength of legislation. I would want to be in a position to inform the government about protecting the public. If they are going to be reviewing the powers then we will inform that debate in due course."

Mr McCashey, who was intelligence commander during the G8 summit in 2005, which took place days before the July 7 bombings in London, also said it would be "remiss" not to install full body scanners in Scottish airports.

Meanwhile, a Scottish expert on terrorism, Professor David Capitanchik, said the likely impact of funding cuts on the police's ability to tackle the terror threat was "concerning".

A number of Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs have argued civil liberties were eroded too far under the previous Labour administration and plan to look at scaling them back in a Freedom Bill to be introduced to the House of Commons, following a Home Office review.

Mr McCashey said he accepted a balance needed to be struck between protecting the public and not encroaching on their freedoms.

But that balance was, he said, constantly changing as the threat of an attack either grew or diminished.

He declined to say which powers should be considered untouchable in the upcoming Home Office review, but did make clear how important some were to police in Scotland.

Mr McCashey said: "Section 44 (stop and search] is a power that is useful and necessary as long as it is used in proportion. We need to make sure that officers using that power are briefed accordingly, making the judgement on a case-by-case basis, rather than as a blanket policy.

"There are concerns, quite rightly, around Schedule Seven powers (to stop, search and detain at ports and borders] applied by officers. It is for everyone's protection that that measure is taken. We do, in some cases, have to sacrifice civil liberties of individuals for the greater good. People understand that. That's what they expect the police to do. I think right now we have sufficient legislation and sufficient powers in place to deal with the current threat that exists.

"There are concerns about body scanners - there are none in Scotland yet - but it's no secret that al-Qaeda is interested in aviation and it would be remiss of us not to use that.

"Given the previous attacks and severe threat level, we need to use almost all means at our disposal."

However, Mr McCashey backed the Home Secretary, saying he would expect officers exercising Section 44 stop and search powers to reasonably suspect the person to be a terrorist.

He added: "We have made significant investment in terms of resources and I don't see that changing significantly in the foreseeable future. But given the demands in funding, we may have to do things differently from the way we've done them to date."

With so much counter-terrorism work done at force level, by police officers working in communities, it was impossible to ringfence the work entirely from the cuts.

Mr McCashey said: "We don't have one single department that deals with counter-terrorism. Frontline police officers, on a daily basis, can deal with terrorist-related activity."

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We have committed to a complete review of counter-terrorism policy and that will involve ongoing discussions with Acpos and others."

Prof Capitanchik, honorary professor at Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, predicted cuts would lessen the country's capability to prevent an attack.

He said: "I find it peculiar that they are cutting counter-terrorism money on one hand, and on the other saying they want to somehow improve counter-terrorism activity. I find that strange.

"It's a concern for counter-terrorism, there's no doubt about it. The police need resources in order to carry out their activity - there are serious problems and that is why they need those resources."

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