Highland MSPs were at the centre of a security alert in the Scottish Parliament yesterday after one was sent a “suspicious package” in the post.
Politicians and their staff were evacuated at Holyrood when a white powder was discovered in an envelope sent to Scottish Conservative representative Jamie Halcro Johnston.
The letter is believed to have contained an invitation to a 200th anniversary ball organised by the Inverness Courier newspaper.
It is understood that Highland Council had been responsible for sending out the invitations for next month’s event.
The invitations were also received yesterday by fellow Highlands and islands MSPs Ed Mountain and Donald Cameron, and Mid-Scotland and Fife representative Liz Smith.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and the MSPs’ block remained closed for about two hours while investigations were carried out.
But police later confirmed that there were “no suspicious circumstances surrounding this incident and no crime has been committed”.
Mr Halcro Johnston, who became a list MSP for the north region earlier this year, was not in the office at the time.
Last night, he said: “I was in economy committee and I got the e-mail from the parliamentary authorities. I contacted my staff straight away and it was only then that I found out it was my office.
“My staff member noticed some powder on the back of his hand. He spoke to another colleague and decided the best thing was to contact the parliament helpdesk.
“I don’t know if there was anything on the other invitations but it was on our one. The key thing is that everyone is ok and the processes and systems worked. My thanks go to the staff and the emergency services.”
The male staff member was checked over by medics and given the rest of the day off.
Mr Mountain said: “We got the same envelope as they did, and Jamie Halcro Johnston. It’s just an invitation. I had opened mine and there was nothing in it. The one in Jamie’s office had a bit of white powder in it.”
The Inverness Courier and Highland Council both declined to comment yesterday.
A police spokesman said: “Emergency services were called at around 11.35am on Tuesday, 7th November following a report of a suspicious package having been delivered.
“The MSP block was evacuated as a precaution, but inquiries have concluded there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding this incident and no crime has been committed.”
Mid-Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Liz Smith was the fourth politician to receive the same letter yesterday.
She said: “This was a worrying incident for the whole parliament and especially for those of us who were recipients of the suspicious package.
“The parliamentary authorities and the emergency services deserve great credit for the manner in which they handled this incident.
“They were very quickly on the scene and l am sure l speak for everyone when I say how grateful we are to them all for the very thorough search of the members’ block and the post office area.”
