Part two: Police reaction
By Judith Duffy

THE police chief leading the investigation into the terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport last night described it as a horrendous criminal act. Sir William Rae, chief constable of Strathclyde Police, said that the impact of the incident had been felt by all members of the community and warned that any harassment of members of ethnic minorities would be "robustly dealt with".

He also revealed that Peter Clarke, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who has responsibility for terrorism in the UK, is travelling to Scotland to assist the investigation.

In the first detailed police account of the incident, given at a press briefing in Glasgow yesterday evening, it was revealed that the vehicle which caught fire on impact with the building is still in a "highly unstable condition". Police are waiting for clearance so that forensic investigations can begin to take place. It is yet unknown whether there could have been anyone else in the Jeep, apart from the two men who were arrested at the scene.

One of the suspects was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley with severe burns. The emergency department subsequently had to be evacuated for a time after a suspect device was found "on his person", which is believed to have been a suicide belt.

However, Rae said he was unable to disclose any additional information about the two men or the vehicle involved due to legal constraints. "We are at the start of a very detailed and delicate investigation," he said. "The inquiries on the vehicle are still ongoing you will appreciate the vehicle has been very badly destroyed and it is difficult at this stage to know exactly what was in it."

Rae said it was believed the Glasgow incident was linked to the car bombs which had been discovered in London the previous day. However he added that there was no prior intelligence which had suggested that an attack in Scotland was imminent. Officers from Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command SO15 are now working with Strathclyde Police on the investigation.

The police chief appealed for any witnesses who saw the incident at the airport but had not yet talked to police to come forward. "In particular, we are aware that between 20 and 30 people were standing outside the airport at the time of the incident and we are anxious to speak to them," he said.

"Whilst we have no intelligence to suggest that there are any intended further attacks or incidents of terrorism, we are asking the public to be extremely vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the police."

Rae also praised the support from ethnic minority communities in the west of Scotland and issued a warning that police would take action against any racist behaviour in the wake of the incident.

"The majority of people in Scotland are clearly supportive of our efforts, but there are a small number of individuals who will use this opportunity to harass and victimise members of our minority communities across the country," he said. "This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and will be robustly dealt with."

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the incident room on or their local police station