After terror strike, police talk of guns on the beat

RANK-AND-FILE officers will hold an emergency debate today on whether more of their number should routinely carry guns.

The issue was added to the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) conference agenda after the murder of PC Keith Palmer and three other people in last week’s terror attack.

Khalid Masood’s rampage was only stopped when he was shot dead by an officer at Westminster.

The debate, which will open the three-day conference in Turnberry, Ayrshire, comes despite the SPF previously opposing proposals to arm more police.

Officers will also discuss Police Scotland’s ‘readiness’ to deal with a terrorist incident.

In a statement, the SPF said the debate would focus on ‘whether the fight against terrorism risks being undermined by drastic cuts to the policing budget, the erosion of community based policing and whether officers have sufficient personal protective equipment (including firearms) to be able to protect themselves in the event of a terrorist incident’.

Masood, 52, mowed down pedestrians with a rented Hyundai car on London’s Westminster Bridge before crashing into a gate outside the Houses of Parliament.

Mother-of-two Aysha Frade, US tourist Kurt Cochran and retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes died as a result.

Armed with two knives, he then fatally stabbed PC Palmer. The terrorist was shot dead by a close protection officer guarding defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon.

In the days that followed Masood’s attack, armed police were deployed at key locations in Scotland, including railway stations, cities centres and at the Scottish parliament.

SPF general secretary Calum Steele said: ‘It is inconceivable that in light of the events that have taken place in London over the past number of days, that delegates attending for the SPF conference would not be minded to have significant debates and discussions about the state of readiness for policing in Scotland.

‘Ultimately terrorism, or the fight against terrorism, does not start a few yards from the intended target, it starts with communities.

‘And the importance of having police officers embedded in our communities, building trusting relationships, gathering intelligence and helping communities thrive is where the real fight against terrorism begins – and not by bolstering the numbers of tactical officers to deal with the event after it has taken place or as it is taking place.’

Mr Steele added: ‘Surely it’s much better to invest in the prevention than in the response. Although clearly it is vital that we have adequate tactical responses for the event of something going wrong as we saw in London.’

The SPF represents 98 per cent of police officers in Scotland.

It has traditionally opposed the routine arming of members. In 2000, the SPF said: ‘It is better to preserve law and order by traditional British means of policing.’

But the federation’s position was revisited in 2006 when it welcomed a move to equip officers with non-lethal Taser weapons.

This followed the release of statistics showing that two officers a day were hospitalised as a result of injuries sustained while on duty between August 2005 and August 2006.

Former Police Scotland chief constable Sir Stephen House faced angry criticism when it emerged that armed officers were being sent to deal with routine incidents.

Last June, it was announced that the number of armed officers in Scotland would rise by a third after an injection of £3million.

‘Undermined by drastic cuts’ ‘Building trusting relationships’