One of Scotland’s most senior police officers has said there is no “specific threat” of a terrorist attack north of the border.
Assistant Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicholson said there was no “information” that terrorists were “focused” on Scotland.
But he warned that the nation still had to be prepared for a potential attack in case jihadi elements viewed it as the “soft underbelly” of the United Kingdom.
He said: “We don’t have a specific threat in Scotland but we wouldn’t want Scotland to feel like it is the soft underbelly, so we’re working in exactly the same way as south of the border.
“Are terrorists focused on Scotland at this moment in time? From the information that we have, they aren’t. But does that mean we wouldn’t have an attack here? I just can’t say that, so we need to plan.
“We’re doing a lot of work in the background, so you might not see a huge number of extra police officers on the ground, but there is a huge amount of work in the background to try to prevent this from happening in the first place.”
The Scottish Police Federation’s Calum Steele recently called for more armed police patrols to cope with Paris-style gun attacks – but another senior officer played down the chances of that happening.
Assistant Constable Bernie Higgins said: “We reacted to that and it was the right thing to do.
“Given the ongoing threat level there is no appetite on my part to extend the firearms duties beyond what I’ve already described, which is firearms incidents, threat to life and professional judgment on anything else they come across.”
The international terrorist threat level for the UK is “severe”. It has been at the highest “critical” level three times in its history, the last in 2007.
Police had learned lessons about the routine arming of police on the streets, Mr Higgins said, adding it was a “fundamental principle” that the force was held to account and made to explain its actions.
“At the time challenging questions were had,” he said.
“We were subject to an HMI review, we were subject to an SPA independent inquiry as well – both of them then found that the police use of firearms was both necessary and proportionate.
“Where we didn’t get it entirely right was how we engaged with the public and told them why we’re doing what we do.”
Police Scotland has 275 armed response vehicle officers and a “significant number” of additional day-to-day officers with firearms capability.