SCOTLAND'S Chief Constable has intervened in the debate over the routine deployment of armed police officers in the Highlands, defending what he says has been a long-established practice.

Sir Stephen House said that criminal incidents in the area demonstrate a "real and continued operational need for a specially trained immediate response as and when required".

However, the MSP who has led the criticism is to meet the hierarchy of Police Scotland amid claims the force threatens to destroy "decades of good work" by deploying armed officers who appear "militarised and unapproachable", in particular when supporting colleagues on normal duties such as overseeing the dispersal of customers from pubs.

John Finnie, Independent MSP for the Highlands and Islands, is to meet Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins, the senior officer in charge of national firearms policy.

They have already exchanged letters since The Herald revealed Mr Finnie's concerns this week about the change in approach since the creation of a single Scottish Police force last year.

Mr Higgins wrote explaining to Mr Finnie, who was himself a police officer and a full-time elected official of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), that it was to enhance the force's ability to protect the public.

There had long been an armed response vehicle (ARV) in the old Northern Constabulary force area. But Mr Finnie said the firearms were always stored in a locked gun-safe in the boot and could only be removed on the authorisation of a senior officer.

Mr Finnie has now written back to Mr Higgins asking what risk and community impact assessments were made. His letter adds: "Crucially, are you suggesting that the prior to the change of policy that residents of the Highlands and Islands were somehow at risk as a result of Northern Constabulary's ARV policy?"

Mr Finnie said he supported a single police service, especially as the public had been assured that best practice from each of the previous forces would be retained.

"Sadly, that has not turned out to be the case and there is a real risk of destroying decades of good work if local policing operations do not reflect local needs and past best practice," he added.

But speaking in Inverness Mr House said: "Despite recent misrepresentations, the deployment of armed policing officers, where necessary and proportionate, has been a long-standing feature of policing across Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands.

"Provision to enable a small number of specially trained ARV officers to overtly deploy sidearms and other weapons as considered necessary allows them to deal with immediate threats without any delay."