Armed response at Arbroath ‘justified’

POLICE were “wholly justified” in shooting out the tyres of a car used by ATM raiders in a dramatic Angus conclusion to an operation in which the criminals were snared after thefts across the UK.

Following the conviction of seven men at Liverpool Crown Court for 13 cash machine thefts, including in Perth and Carnoustie, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner published the findings of an investigation into the events of February 12 last year when the gang were cornered at Arbroath’s McDonald’s restaurant.

Earlier that morning the gang had ripped the ATM from the Co-op in Carnoustie then headed for the drive-thru restaurant where stunned customers watched as armed police swooped on the group in the car park, with tyre deflation rounds fired as the gang tried to ram an escape route in their stolen Mercedes.

The findings of the investigation were released following the end of a four-month trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Seven men, from Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, have been convicted of 13 ATM raids which netted £500,000 — including more than £100,000 in Scotland — and they will be sentenced later this month.

The commissioner’s report found that because of the high risk posed to the public and police, the police firearms response was both necessary and proportionate. The commissioner, Kate Frame, said: “The response, to what was a significant threat to public safety, was wholly justified.”