First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday insisted that the attack on Glasgow airport should not lead to police being given beefed-up powers for the detention of terror suspects.

First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday insisted that the attack on Glasgow airport should not lead to police being given beefed-up powers for the detention of terror suspects.

The UK Government was forced to water down proposals to hold suspected terrorists for up to 90 days without charge in the face of protests from opposition parties and civil liberties campaigners. Saturday's attack on Glasgow airport, as well as the failed car bombs in London last week, has led to renewed calls for stricter controls. But Mr Salmond said he was "not persuaded" that anti-terror police should be given more powers.

The First Minister also took part in another meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on civil contingencies yesterday as the Scottish Executive continued to liaise with Westminster on how best to deal with the terror threat facing the UK.

Speaking in advance of that meeting, Mr Salmond said it was "far too early" to draw conclusions from the incident at Glasgow airport.

Asked specifically whether there should be new legislation to extend the length of time suspects can be detained, he said: "There is nothing in this incident which would affect that at the present moment, since we have in custody two people who are suspected of being involved in a terrorist incident.

"At the moment there's absolutely nothing in this incident that should lead you at this stage to change your mind.

"Obviously if new information comes forward, then I'm sure all political parties would want to look at it, but currently we are not persuaded."

Mr Salmond insisted "everything is being done to keep our communities safe from harm" and said that among the steps being taken was an increased police presence at airports and railway stations. He also paid tribute to the "exceptional" response of all those who have been dealing with the aftermath of the Glasgow attack.

"Think of it - two days after a major incident and the airport's up and running and functioning normally," he said.

"That's a spectacular achievement, and I think it's symbolic of the attitude of the rest of the country. Today it's back to work as normal."

Politicians of all parties, both at Holyrood and Westminster, were united in their response to the attacks, the First Minister said.

"I think we should emphasise the united determination across all the political parties to stand together against terrorism," he said. "We should also stress the united determination of all our communities within Scotland not to be divided by criminals who perpetrate outrages."

Mr Salmond added: "The communication has been total north and south of the border, and the determination to stand up in solidarity to those criminals effecting damage in our communities has also been total."

Yesterday's meeting in the Scottish Executive Emergency Room (SEER) was chaired by Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, with Mr Salmond and Richard Lochhead, the Rural Affairs Secretary, taking part by telephone link.

Others present included Elish Angiolini, the Lord Advocate, the Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson and the Permanent Secretary Sir John Elvidge.

Strathclyde Police Deputy Chief Constable Ricky Gray also took part through a video conferencing facility.

A spokesman for the First Minister said they had discussed the police investigation and received an update on the transport situation. In particular, the spokesman said those present praised the "remarkable" work which had been done to get Glasgow airport back up and running.

There was also an acknowledgement that officials would need to "keep an eye" on community relations across the country to ensure there were no reprisals against Asians.