Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond yesterday promised the country would not be beaten by terrorism as Glasgow Airport fully reopened 24 hours after Saturday's burning car attack on its main terminal.
Mr Salmond also sought to reassure Scotland's "minority" communities, saying none should be "scapegoated" as a result of the incident, which Strathclyde police have linked to the discovery of two car bombs in London on Friday.
The first minister was speaking after Scotland's only Muslim MP, Mohammed Sarwar, said threats had been made towards members of the Muslim community in the aftermath of the airport attack. As Muslim leaders from around Scotland met to consider the implications of Saturday's events, Osama Saeed from the Muslim Association of Great Britain said he was "seething" about the attack. "We are sick of being defined as a community by terrorism and having to answer for it," he said. "No cause, and certainly no Muslim cause, is advanced by these senseless attacks . . . We wish this had not happened and hope that there is no more." Two Asian men were arrested after a jeep was driven into the airport's main terminal and burst into flames at 3.15pm on Saturday afternoon.
Eyewitnesses described one of the occupants jumping from the car smiling before dousing his clothes with petrol and setting himself alight. One of two arrested was taken to the city's Royal Alexandra Hospital in critical condition after suffering severe burns. It was initially believed he was in possession of a "suspect device" which was later found not to be explosive. The vehicle was made safe and then removed for forensic examination.
Ministers in the Scottish executive met yesterday for a briefing on the airport attack, as Mr Salmond reassured holidaymakers delayed by the incident and appealed for public vigilance. The first minister spoke to prime minister Gordon Brown by videolink on Saturday evening as the UK's threat assessment was upgraded to its highest level, critical, in anticipation of further "imminent" attacks. Scotland's emergency committee, Scottish Executive Emergency Room, was also in session yesterday as security arrangements for airports and other public places across the UK were being reviewed.
Mr Salmond said it appeared that those involved in the Glasgow incident had not been in Scotland "for any length of time". Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said they had been in the country for "a period of time", adding that they were not "born and bred" there.
The BBC quoted him saying: "For any suggestion to be made that they are home-grown terrorists is just not true."