SPECIAL REPORT: The Glasgow Airport attack one year on
By Jasper Hamill

To some Glaswegians the events of July 30, 2007 marked "a loss of innocence"; to others they were a sterling display of "Scottish spirit" played out on an international stage.

In October the courts will decide what actually happened during the alleged terrorist attack. But as the people swept up in the chaos of that tumultuous day already know, it was one that Scotland will remember forever, as rumours spread that perhaps a new front on the war on terror had opened up in Paisley.

One eyewitness, Jim Manson, a 60-year-old television producer from Aberdeen, watched the events from 50 feet away as he waited to pick up his wife. He said: "June 30 was a day that changed Scotland. Looking back, it was when we realised we were just as vulnerable as London, Manchester or any other city. There was a feeling in Scotland that these sorts of things don't happen and that day was a real wake-up call for all of us. All of Scotland realised that we might be under attack. It was a harrowing moment."

For the staff of the emergency services that co-ordinated the response it was proof that they could cope with anything that was thrown at them. Brian Sweeney, chief officer of the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, was watching Shrek with his son when his pager went off, displaying the simple yet chilling message: "Terrorist strike: Glasgow Airport."

He rushed down to the scene of the incident to lead his men from the front line, while the rest of the fire service initiated a procedure called Gold Command, stationing high-ranking officers at important sites in and around the city - thought to include potential targets such as Hunterston nuclear power station in Ayrshire and the Glasgow subway - in case of "asymmetrical attack", a common tactic of "new dimensions terrorists" that involves attacking different targets one after the other to throw emergency services into confusion.

Sweeney said: "We'd not been subject to an attack of that kind: our country lost its innocence on that day. Yet I think it showed us in a very strong, positive light. One year on, we have learned the lessons of that day and are even more prepared for any other attacks. The message is very clear: you can attack us - and we will do everything we can to frustrate that attack - but you're not going to bring this country to its knees."

Harry Lambie, an airport ambassador, was standing at the door of the airport terminal as the jeep smashed into it. He helped to co-ordinate the evacuation of 2600 people from the terminal without a single injury, helping stunned staff clamber out from behind desks and run for safety. There is no legacy of fear, he claims. One year on, passengers simply accept the new security regime - which includes a £4 million toughening up of the external structure and a £31 million security facility called Skyhub - and treat a visit to the airport the same as they did before the incident.

He said: "The only thing that has really changed is that customers are no longer able to drive right up to the terminal building. Apart from that, very little is different. I deal with people coming in to the airport, and those that I have spoken to have enormous respect for what we've done here and the way we have recovered."

Ronald Leitch, the airport's customer services operations manager, added: "It showed that no matter what size of challenge we might be presented with, when the time comes you pull together."

The greatest fear was that the events would polarise communities, leading to a surge of racist hate crimes. The BNP was rumoured to have been in the city, trying to whip up racist sentiment, apparently to no avail.

Stephen House, chief constable of Strathclyde Police, said: "In the period immediately following the incident last year we were very fortunate to have been able to build upon the excellent long-standing relationship we had forged with our minority communities and, working in conjunction with both them and our partner agencies, we were able to tackle the emerging issues which had the potential to cause great concern."

There was a reported rise in racist crimes - which rose from 201 in June 2007 to 258 in July 2007 - but one of the victims of these attacks denied that the attack on his shop was inspired by the airport incident.

A few weeks after the June 30 incident, Shafiq Ahmed, 60, was woken up at 2am, as a car had rammed into his newsagent in Riddrie, Glasgow. The driver tried to force his way through the steel shutters, gave up and set fire to the car, throwing a gas canister into the burning wreckage which then exploded and gutted the shop.

He said: "I'm not sure if I was a victim at all. It could have been someone that was trying to get rid of the car. Perhaps they'd run someone over or had stolen it: I don't think it was necessarily racist.

"I don't think Glasgow is a more racist place at all. Neither do I think the fear of terrorism has increased. It's been there for many moons and hasn't been amplified. Racism was nothing to do with the attacks on me. In fact, I think Glasgow has calmed down recently."

Glasgow list SNP MSP Bashir Ahmad said the anniversary was the perfect time to reflect on both the lessons learned from that day and to assess how far we have come together as a nation.

He said: "The misconception that Scotland would never be a target for terrorists was on that day abruptly destroyed. Events like the attack are defining moments in a country's history. Not just the event itself, but more importantly how we react to it. I was overjoyed that a week after the attack close to 2000 people gathered in George Square to send out a united message against terror of any kind.

"I do not believe that everyone has learned the lessons, or indeed taken on the positive sentiments expressed in the aftermath of the attacks," Ahmad added. "In December 2007 I scanned figures from the British Transport Police on the number of stop and searches they conducted in the six months after the attack. It was with a heavy heart I read that they had carried out over 15,000 searches, around 14% of which were on members of the Asian community - who make up only 2% of the population."