Scottish Police Federation questions West Nile Street incident response

The Scottish Police Federation says a planned and violent attack in Glasgow City Centre could have been much more serious, because armed officers were not sent to the scene.

A man attacked two others on West Nile St on Thursday afternoon before turning the weapon on himself.

He was subdued by officers with pepper spray and taken to hospital where he later died.

Scottish Police Federation Calum Steele is concerned it could have been much worse:

Scottish Police Federation Chair Andrea MacDonald said it was "deeply worrying'' that no armed units were dispatched.

In a statement, she said: “Had the assailant been intent on harming large numbers of the public, he could have done so with impunity and the police would have been largely powerless to stop him.

“Whilst not detracting in any way from the courage of the police officers who attended, the fact no armed officers were dispatched to a man attacking others with knives and an axe should be deeply worrying.

“Glasgow is a city with an almost permanent armed police presence but they were not dispatched and they did not attend.

“This lays bare the myth that the service adequately risk-assesses incidents prior to deploying resources and that as a service we are capable of protecting the public from spontaneous incidents of extreme violence.''

Last month's SPF annual conference heard calls for all officers to be equipped with Tasers and an increase in the number of armed officers.

Senior police officers rejected those calls, voicing commitment to remaining a primarily unarmed service

Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson said: “Police Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, prides itself in being an unarmed service with access to specialist firearms support whenever required.

“Yesterday's incident in Glasgow city centre was a dynamic and fast-moving incident.

“Local officers responded rapidly and contained and dealt with it quickly.

“This was not a random attack. It was planned and targeted, and armed officers were not required to attend on this occasion.''