Fire chief denies airport claims

Brian Sweeney vehemently denied the claims about his son

One of Scotland's most senior firefighters has denied claims that his son hindered emergency plans during the Glasgow Airport attack.

Brian Sweeney, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue chief, brought his nine-year-old son into the forward command vehicle during the terror alert last month.

However he denied newspaper claims that his son wiped a whiteboard with details of fire vehicles' positions.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said Mr Sweeney would not face further action.

The Daily Record newspaper claimed that Mr Sweeney's son erased plans in the brigade's mobile headquarters during the attack.

However, a spokesman said that the boy waited in the vehicle while his father and colleagues assessed how to deal with the danger posed by the burning Jeep at the airport entrance.

His son was with him for a short while. His son did not touch anything Strathclyde Fire and Rescue

A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said that Mr Sweeney had no choice but to bring his son to work because he could not get a babysitter at short notice.

He said: "He is not facing any action. He had no alternative because he had to get to the incident as quickly as possible because of the incident and had no one else to look after his boy.

"He was placed in a forward command vehicle back from the incident.

"What else could the chief do? Leave the child in the street?

"His son was with him for a short while. His son did not touch anything."

Rescue operation

The spokesman also said that the boy was not put in any danger.

He said: "When he first arrived, the boy spent some time in a police car but it was only after the Jeep was known to be safe that he was placed in the forward command vehicle and that was when the incident was under control."

Mr Sweeney came to public prominence in the aftermath of the explosion at the Stockline plastics factory in Glasgow in May 2004, in which nine people died.

He was later awarded the Queen's Fire Service Medal in recognition of his work during the rescue operation.

Mr Sweeney, originally from County Donegal, joined Strathclyde Fire Brigade as a recruit in 1980.

He was appointed chief officer in October 2004.