Police may ask for terror powers

Tayside Police may apply for terrorism detention powers

Tayside Police may apply for detention powers under terrorism laws during the G8 summit, BBC Scotland has learned.

However, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) stress they would not be used as a means of controlling public order.

No Scottish force has applied for such powers but Acpos said it would not be surprised if Tayside did so in advance of the event.

The power to detain people suspected of terrorism was introduced in 2000.

The latest move came as councillors, police and protest organisers met in Edinburgh to discuss how the capital will cope with the large demonstrations expected to coincide with the Gleneagles summit.

It's purely symbolic, it's just Bob being Bob Midge Ure

On Tuesday, Bob Geldof appealed for a million people to converge on Edinburgh for an anti-poverty the rally on 6 July to coincide with the G8 summit.

However, earlier on Thursday, pop star Midge Ure urged the public "not to panic" about the call and said they should not take Geldof's plea literally.

"It's purely symbolic, it's just Bob being Bob," he added.

Edinburgh City Council's deputy lord provost Steve Cardownie accused Geldof of being irresponsible and senior police officers expressed concern about the impact on resources.

The G8 summit is due to take place at Gleneagles between 6 and 8 July, where the world's most powerful leaders will meet to discuss a raft of issues affecting Third World countries.