Scotland's nuke plants to get armed police

 

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug 06, 2005 -- United Press International

 

Scotland's two nuclear power stations are getting their own armed police force.

The Scotsman reports the stations at Hunterston in Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian have been guarded in the past by a force based in England. Officers from the Tactical Firearms Group were dispatched to Scotland during times of high security alert like the recent G8 summit in Gleneagles.

A spokesman for British Energy told the newspaper the plan is not a response to the recent London Transport bombings.

"There has been growing concern that there might be some kind of an attack on power stations, especially the nuclear plants," a police source said. "While there is not very much chance of actually blowing anything up, they would want to make a big impact by disrupting power supplies, that would spread the terror by showing that no one can escape from them."

The two plants supply about 40 percent of Scotland's electricity. Two decommissioned plants already have their own guard forces.

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