Bag searches are ruled out despite security being stepped up for event

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has ruled out bag searches being carried out on thousandsoffestival-goersthronging popular street theatre arenas – despite a stepping up of security in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks.

A more visible police presence and more robust road blocks beside pedestrianised areas are among the measures expected to be put in place during the Fringe, which around 2.5 million people are expected to attend.

Fringe chief executive Shona Mccarthy said security was “top of the agenda” for the Fringe this summer and was being reviewed in the wake of the most recent incidents.

Bag searches are already carried out at the main entrance to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle esplanade. But Ms Mccarthy said she did not believe it would be “feasible, possible or desirable” to search people entering public areas like the Royal Mile and The Mound, which are unticketed.

She said registered Fringe 0 Shona Mccarthy said security is under review venues may be advised to step up their own security measures once a full safety audit of the festival is carried out.

Ms Mccarthy, who previously lived and worked in Belfast for years, is in her second year at the helm of the Fringe.

She said: “For anybody doing an event at the moment, security is uppermost in their minds. We’re in constant contact with the police, counterterrorism officials, the city council and all of the other key players involved with safety and security in the city.

“Of course it’s going to be a priority, everybody is talking about it at the moment and we’re putting updated plans in place to make sure we keep people as safe as possible.

“We’re still in conversations to decide what we will do in terms of the areas the Fringe Society is responsible for.

“Obviously the Royal Mile and The Mound are open public areas and it is not feasible, possible or even desirable to do bag checks on public walkways and in public spaces. We don’t have any control over individual venues. Some of them may choose to do their own bag checks.”

A spokeswoman for the Fringe added: “There are ongoing conversations with the police, counter-terrorism and the council in terms of an over-arching response and recommendations for the Fringe.

“It would be wrong for us to comment on any recommendations until a lot closer to the event. There are different protocols in place depending on the level of threat at the time.

“There is no specific threat to Edinburgh and Scotland. There is no intelligence to suggest we’re in a more threatened position than we’ve been in previously. That’s absolutely the message we’ve been given and it’s absolutely the message we’d give to the public.”