Law & Order : Lord Advocate & Attorney General agree cross border terrorism prosecutions

The Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini QC and Attorney General Baroness Scotland QC have agreed protocols for prosecution of cross border terrorism offences, where Scotland & England share jurisdiction.

Scottish Government release :

Cross-border terrorism offences

08/05/2009

The prosecution of cross-border terrorism offences will be strengthened by a new protocol agreed today by the Lord Advocate, the Right Honourable Elish Angiolini QC, and the Attorney General, the Right Honorable Baroness Scotland QC.

The protocol sets out the broad principles and considerations relevant in deciding who should lead criminal investigations and prosecutions in cases where jurisdiction is shared between Scotland and England and Wales.

The protocol underscores the commitment from investigators and prosecutors across the UK to work together to bring offenders to justice.

Baroness Scotland said:

"It is imperative to detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences swiftly and effectively, to protect the public and bring offenders to justice. Police and prosecutors have a long record of cooperating effectively across UK jurisdictions, as was demonstrated in the operation involving the investigation and prosecution that followed the Glasgow/London Haymarket bombing attempts.

"This statement is a public commitment by prosecutors and Law Officers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to effective co-operation between us, to provide assurance to the public about the basis on which operational decisions are approached in cases with cross border elements."

Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini QC said:

"The evolving nature of crime, particularly serious and organised crime including terrorism, requires a far greater degree of flexibility and cross-border co-operation. Where criminal conduct is linked, there may be substantial benefit to the public interest if accused are tried in one place. Operational decisions as to how to pursue an investigation with a view to prosecution have to be taken objectively, based on the available evidence and circumstances in each individual case."

The protocol was agreed as the Lord Advocate and Attorney General delivered the keynote addresses at the Law Society of Scotland's 60th anniversary conference in Edinburgh today.

Law & Order : Crown Office accused of corruption as man who threatened to blow up mosque escapes terrorism charges

While it is generally accepted that anyone who merely uses the word “bomb” or “beheading” is drummed up on terror charges, has their phones bugged, and a camera shoved up their toilet in surveillance state Britain, Scotland’s Crown Office appear to be operating double standards in not bringing terror charges against someone who threatened to blow up a mosque and behead Muslims.

We would point out the Crown Office don’t always let people off the hook who use the word ‘bomb’, as Advocate Dr Raj Jandoo found out not so long ago : Lawyer found guilty of bomb scare

(More institutional double standards & racism from the Crown Office as we have come to expect over the years ? – Ed)

The Scotsman reports :

'I'll bomb a mosque' – but racist escapes terror charge

Published Date: 15 April 2009
By MICHAEL HOWIE

THE Crown Office has been accused of double standards by Scotland's biggest Islamic group for not bringing terrorism charges against a man who threatened to blow up a mosque and behead Muslims.

The Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) has written to Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini querying the decision to prosecute Neil MacGregor for a breach of the peace, not terrorism offences.

MacGregor, 35, has already admitted threatening to blow up Scotland's biggest mosque and behead one Muslim a week until every mosque is shut down.

He will be sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday.

"There has been criticism for the lack of exposure this case has got, but this stems from how the case was originally handled," Osama Saeed, the SIF's chief executive, said. "Had he been a Muslim, we suspect counter-terror police would have been involved from the outset, and it would have been processed in a completely different manner."

Mr Saeed drew a parallel with the case of Mohammed Atif Siddique, a student from Alva, Clackmannanshire, who was jailed for eight years for internet-related terrorist crimes.

"No-one seems to have looked into the internet habits that radicalised MacGregor to take copycat revenge for (British hostage] Ken Bigley's assassination in Iraq," he said.

"We can be sure if he had been Muslim and had been inspired to replicate it, the result would have been quite different."

Mr Saeed insisted he was not seeking to minimise the seriousness of Islamic terrorism cases.

"All we are calling for is consistency, and the authorities have to explain why the heavy books of the Terrorism Acts were not thrown at MacGregor," he said.

"Islamic and far-right extremism are stablemates when it comes to violence – a toxic mix of ideology and grievance. We hear glib assurances that far-right extremism is being dealt with, but the evidence says otherwise."

The SIF was founded last year, describing itself as a "platform for action", and has received £400,000 from the Scottish Government.

Mr Saeed said the federation would request evidence from the case to be released under Freedom of Information laws.

An earlier hearing was told MacGregor admitted sending an e-mail to Strathclyde Police, threatening to blow up Glasgow Central Mosque if certain demands were not met.

Included in the message was a threat to behead one Muslim a week, in the same manner that construction worker Mr Bigley was killed after he was kidnapped in Iraq in 2004.

The court heard MacGregor, from Derbyshire, followed that e-mail with a 999 call to police on 5 February, 2007, in which he claimed he was from the National Front and that a bomb was going to go off at Glasgow's Central Mosque.

Police searched the building for explosive devices, but failed to find anything suspicious.

In his e-mail, MacGregor wrote: "I'm a proud racist and National Front member.

Our demands are very small. Close all mosques in Scotland, we see this is very easy – even you guys can handle that."

He then wrote: "If our demands aren't met by next Friday we'll kidnap one Muslim and execute him or her on the internet, just like they did to our Ken Bigley."

A Crown Office spokesman said that MacGregor was indicted on a charge of breach of the peace, aggravated by racial hatred, "following full and careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances in this case".

Law & Order : Armed Police undercover units deployed to a street near you

In response to the ‘terror threats’ to Scotland, armed undercover Police are now deployed to our streets, along with unmarked cars for firearms operations … (that will definitely kill fly tipping ! – Ed)

The Scotsman reports :

Undercover police to carry guns in response to terror threat

Published Date: 12 April 2009
By David Leask

PLAIN-clothes police carrying concealed guns are being deployed on Scottish streets for the first time in decades in direct response to the increased terror threat, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Police marksmen have also been given the green light to use unmarked cars for firearms operations in another move aimed at better protecting the public from the threat of suicide bombers.

Security experts last night welcomed the development, saying it could help avoid potentially fatal confusion and delay in anti-terror operations where plain-clothes surveillance teams track suspects while uniformed firearms officers wait out of sight.

It is believed that under the Scottish plan – dubbed "covert physical detention" – firearms officers in civilian clothing will be able to keep in very close, constant contact with suspects and, in extreme cases, open fire at a time and place that reduces the risk to innocent civilians.

But critics of the new policy complained that it had been introduced without public consultation and warned it could increase the risk to the public and even result in separate firearms units opening fire on each other.

The revelation follows anti-terror raids across the north-west of England last week, in which a dozen men were rounded up.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that with the assessment of the terror threat north of the border remaining at "severe", Strathclyde's chief constable, Stephen House, and his force executive recently approved the new policy of plain-clothes firearms officers and their use of unmarked cars.

Tactical firearms and armed response units have been in uniform since their creation in the 1980s and, until now, have always travelled in marked police vehicles. Insiders confirmed the new tactic would allow armed officers, disguised as members of the public, to trail dangerous individuals.

Previously unarmed surveillance officers, should they have needed armed support, would have had to wait for uniformed colleagues to arrive. A former senior firearms officer said: "Basically, we are talking about the boys going into civvies."

One source close to UK special forces said: "This is a considerable departure. Plain-clothes armed officers have previously only been used in extreme circumstances where there is a major threat, such as Northern Ireland or the Middle East. Scotland, until two years ago – at Glasgow Airport – had never really had a terrorist incident and this is a sign that things have changed."

Strathclyde, which covers almost half the population of Scotland, yesterday declined to comment on its tactics.

Some police insiders, however, have long argued for plain-clothes armed officers to return. One advocate is Graeme Pearson, the former director of the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency. Pearson, now a professor at Glasgow University's Institute for the Study of Serious Organised Crime, said: "This seems to me to be a safer option for intervention, which will allow officers to have a greater level of control over a situation and, hopefully, allow them to do so without using violence."

Bill Aitken, the Conservatives' justice spokesman, said: "This is unfortunately a sign of the times."

His Labour counterpart, Richard Baker, said: "I think that people will recognise that sometimes the police have to use covert tactics."

The Liberal Democrats' Robert Brown said: "This is a policy issue on which there should be consultations with the police board and government.

"Politicians, who are answerable to the public, should be able to express views on this."

Patrick Harvie, the Green Glasgow MSP, said: "I think, for the sake of police accountability, they should be consulting on changes like this."

Brown and Harvie were backed by John Scott, a lawyer specialising in civil liberties, who said: "It may well be that covert armed officers need to be available. But let's talk about it. Surely this is something for Parliament to debate?"

One security insider warned the use of plain-clothes firearms teams brought new risks. The source stressed that undercover armed officers would have to work extremely carefully to avoid being mistaken for suspects during any operation involving more than one agency.

Last night, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "These are clearly operational matters for individual police forces, however we support them in ensuring they have the appropriate levels of security to respond to any potential threat to the public.

"The Glasgow Airport bombing showed that Scotland needs to be ever vigilant, and the police need to be in a position to protect our communities from such incidents."

Confirmation that the force had adopted two separate but related policies, the introduction of unmarked vehicles and the adoption of "covert physical detention", was inadvertently posted on Strathclyde's website last week.

• Yesterday, a judge gave police another week to question 11 of the 12 men seized in Wednesday's terror swoops. The 12th man, an 18-year-old, has been handed over to the UK Border Agency, which will decide whether or not to deport him.

Scotland in fear : Police ready 'terror plans' for population centres

Long gone are the days of peaceful living in Scotland, as the necessity for significant steps to secure public safety in the face of terrorism threats take shape, with the latest revelation that Police are compiling ‘terror plans’ for all local communities in Scotland. Prudent move in terms of security it may be, but scary none the less .. (and a sad reflection on our time – Ed)

The Herald reports :

Police compiling terrorism plan for every local community

LUCY ADAMS, Chief Reporter April 01 2009

Police are compiling a detailed terror plan of every local community, identifying individuals, areas and landmarks of particular concern in a bid to achieve greater co-operation from local authorities and health boards.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) wants to use the local profiles to persuade councils and other bodies to improve security in shopping centres and licensed premises - partly in response to specific intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda is looking to cause "mass casualties".

The move comes as tens of thousands of French, German and British police officers moved into position in cities on both sides of the Rhine and in London ahead of tomorrow's G20 summit involving Barack Obama and other world leaders.

Large cities such as Glasgow may have more than one plan, detailing how many individuals are thought to be a threat, how many buildings need extra protection and what level of emergency measures should be in place.

Senior police hope the profiles will motivate planning departments and other partners to take a more active role in countering the threat of extremism, whether by improving security at city-centre car parks or encouraging social work departments to offer particular individuals more support.

Counter-terrorist specialists will be working alongside others in anticipation of mass protests.

Assistant Chief Constable Allan Burnett, the Acpos co-ordinator for counter-terrorism, said: "We are working on counter-terrorist local profiles which will have a restricted level assessment of, for example, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and we will be sharing these with key partners.

"Rather than me just saying to the chief executive of Glasgow, trust me you've got a problem, we will be giving them intelligence and this will help to get people on board.

"We might want them to influence their planning department to ensure they have counter-terrorism built into security of buildings, ensuring the passes are secure and that car parks are safe."

The move comes just a week after the UK Government unveiled Contest 2, its comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy which includes plans to train civic society in how to confront those who "threaten democracy".

Some 60,000 shop, hotel and service-industry staff will be trained to deal with terrorist threats under the scheme. More than 5000 shopkeepers, managers and security staff have already been trained in Scotland.

Mr Burnett added: "If you're saying, please do this without telling people what they've got in their local areas and being all secretive about it', you're going to get a knock-back.

"Partnership is key to it all. There are big data protection issues which everyone would expect us to handle appropriately.

"There might be more than one profile for some cities and we might have one for some whole forces. It is proportionality. It shows the level of detail that is involved."

Acpos has also conducted a review of Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, the stop-and-search power used by police at ports and airports, following complaints from black and minority ethnic groups that they felt victimised.

Acpos ran focus groups in Glasgow and Edinburgh to gauge the views of different age groups. A new information leaflet explaining the rights of passengers and police is to be launched this week as a result.

Officers are also now being trained in behavioural assessment - to allow them to make accurate judgments on travellers. Hundreds of people are stopped and searched under the powers at Scottish ports and airports every year.

"We have done a review of Schedule 7 - the power to stop and examine anyone at a port or airport and in the minority ethnic communities this is a big concern," said Mr Burnett.

"We had four focus-group meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow and did a lot of work on the threat. We've taken steps to ensure the police properly identify themselves and taken steps to clarify what the police powers are under Schedule 7.

"They wanted the police to know about their culture and cultural taboos."

Law Society hoax stirs up trouble between London & Westminster on anti terror legislation

Michael Clancy over at the Law Society has nothing better to do these days than cause media fights between Scotland & the res of the UK ... primarily because the Law Society have taken the huff over regulatory and legal services market reforms which are being proposed by the OFT and other organisations from south of the border ...

So, new mission of the Law Society is to take the opportunity to stir up trouble on any issue now just to get its wicked way. Oh how peaceful it would be if we were rid of them ...

The Scotsman reports :

New anti-terror laws 'a threat to independence of Scots legal system'

By Gerri Peev

THE independence of Scotland's legal system is under threat from proposed new anti-terrorism laws, it was claimed yesterday.

A clause in the latest counter-terrorism bill would give authorities the right to prosecute terror suspects in any part of the UK, regardless of where the offence was committed.

It could undermine the principles of the 300-year-old Treaty of Union, which enshrines Scotland's judicial independence, and encroach on the jurisdiction of the office of Lord Advocate, whose role is to decide on prosecutions in Scotland, experts warned.

Clause 27 of the Counter Terrorism Bill allows "proceedings for the offence may be taken at any place in the UK." If passed unamended, this clause, which does not have the legal consent of devolved administrations, will have constitutional ramifications.

Michael Clancy, director of law reform for the Law Society of Scotland, said: "This could undermine the primacy of the office of the Lord Advocate and the position of the High Court."

In the Commons last night, Alistair Carmichael, a LibDem MP, asked Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, for assurances that an agreement would be reached with the Lord Advocate first.

Ms Smith said in the case of linked attacks, such as the Glasgow and London bombings, these should be prosecuted in one place. The suspects in the attack on Glasgow Airport are to be tried in London.

This was authorised by the Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini.

Justice Secretary MacAskill critical of stop & search powers use

Kenny MacAskill, Scotland's Justice Secretary hits out at the British Transport Police for wide use of stop & search powers.

Perhaps Mr MacAskill can come up with better ideas for preventing a repeat of the July 7 2005 bombings in London ... or perhaps better to let the security services get on with their duty of protecting the country.

The Herald reports :

MacAskill hits out at use of terror powers

DOUGLAS FRASER, Scottish Political Editor and LUCY ADAMS

Anti-terror stop-and-search powers used by British Transport Police are risking community relations with Scotland's ethnic minorities, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said yesterday.

After June's attack on Glasgow Airport, the force, which is controlled by the Home Secretary and a chief constable based in England, was given powers and encouragement to stop and search people under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000. This requires no need for officers to have suspicion of a crime being committed or intended.

Since then, there have been 14,620 searches carried out in Scotland by the British Transport Police. According to the force's own figures, 12% of those stopped have been of an ethnic minority, while they make up only 2% of the population as a whole.

Over the course of this year until the end of November, the eight Scottish-based police forces made use of their anti-terrorism stop and search powers 135 times. During 2006, the eight Scottish forces stopped only five people under the powers. The British Transport Police inisted yesterday that its extensive use of the powers was due to intelligence suggesting the rail network could be the target for a bomb attack, and that it wants to stop terrorism and reassure the public.

But Mr MacAskill said the huge difference and "extraordinary figures" required an explanation. "It's a genuine cause for concern. Scotland is well-served by our police who work for and with our communities to protect them. Whilst we are in difficult times and it is absolutely vital that we protect our communities, we also have to protect civil liberties, too."

He added: "I think we need answers from British Transport Police on why these figures are so high - particularly when our eight local constabularies have always been able to react to similar threats and challenges yet only used these special powers on a much smaller scale."

A Scottish spokesman for British Transport Police said that the Home Secretary had invoked the powers while operational decisions were determined by the chief constable.

He said the force operated in a unique environment, with a very transient population. It had proven a target for terrorists before, including the London Underground bombings in July 2005, with intelligence suggesting railways may be a target again.

"We are there to disrupt, deter, and detect terrorism and to reassure the public and rail staff. We take terrorism very seriously."

He denied there was an anti-Asian bias in policing: "The powers are completely random. We are not targeting any ethnic minority group."

However, Osama Saeed, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Scotland, said: "Stop and search is humiliating the disproportionate number of Asian-looking people that are stopped under it, undermining good relations between police and communities which are essential at this moment in time. There must be much better uses of valuable police time."