There have been calls made for Scottish police officers to be armed following the terror attack on Westminster.

Four people were killed at the hands of Khalid Masood, including unarmed Police Constable Keith Palmer.

The Sunday Post reports that the issue will be discussed by rank and file officers at the Scottish Police Federation’s annual conference on Tuesday.

Although the topic was not originally on the agenda of the event, it is now “a racing certainty” to be examined.

It is believed by some federation members that it is time for Scottish officers to be armed “given the expectations placed on them to deal with terror situations” and not simply be “potential victims to add to the body count”.

 Professor Anthony Glees, director of Buckinghamshire University’s security and intelligence studies, is also calling for more armed officers on our streets.

He said to the Sunday Post: “We have sent an extremely brave man – PC Keith Palmer – to deal with an Islamist terrorist who was armed with a knife.

“You don’t send soldiers into battle unarmed. Times are hard now and we need more armed police.

“We have got to stop pussy-footing around. When the terror threat is reduced we can get rid of the guns.”

Recently, the number of armed officers to cover Scotland has increased by around 400.

Police Scotland will not reveal the exact figure on duty at any one time, due to operational and security reasons.

However it’s widely accepted to be only a “tiny fraction” of the specialist resource.