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Police ready with portable mortuary in case of terrorism
07 July 2006 18:00

On this the first anniversary of the London bombings, Scotland Today can reveal a portable mortuary, capable of handling 600 bodies, is being set up in Glasgow to cope with a major terror strike. The equipment, part of a raft of Home Office measures would be moved to the scene of any incident. But critics say more effort should be put into intelligence, to stop attacks before they happen.



On July the seventh 2005 terrorists struck in London, claiming 52 lives and injure 700. Terrorism experts say Scotland's potential targets, the Faslane submarine base or the Grangemouth oil plant, are well enough protected - but we are not .

Terrorism expert David Capitanchik said: "I think perhaps I'm more concerned about the general public and a suicide bomber turning up in Marks and Spencer on a busy Saturday is something we do have to worry about. Very very difficult to control and therefore we need a lot of very very good intelligence to be able to see what such people and what such groups that sponsor them are up to."

Glasgow's city mortuary would be unable to handle the bodies from a mass terror incident. In case something like the 7/7 attacks happen in Scotland, the Home Office has placed a mobile mortuary in Glasgow.

If there was an incident on, for example, public transport in the city, the £100,000 tented and inflatable unit would be set up in a central area like Glasgow Green.

The mortuary will have capacity for 600 bodies. There will be special refrigerated areas and operating theatres to allow most-mortem examinations to be carried out. There will also be a family area to allow victim's loved ones to identify them in an atmosphere of dignity and serenity.

Inspector David Bamaung from Strathclyde Police said: "I think the public mood's changed in the last year or so and there's that awareness probably at the back of everybody's mind but they do think slightly differently now and our big challenge is to raise awareness without raising undue fear.Our big concern would be if there was an inappropriate fear about the level of threat so it's really very much like walking a tightrope."

Project Griffin is a multi-agency group designed to help Scottish organisations and businesses prepare for any terror attack. Among those attending this Glasgow session was a senior London policeman on duty on 7/7.

Superintendent Brett Lovegrove from the counter terrorist branch of City of London Police said: "Whether it be London or Glasgow, we can only defeat a network by ensuring that we are a strong network together and by working together we will lessen the opportunity for terrorists attacking our assets, our people, our buildings and I think that's a very important thing to do."

An exercise, which simulated a chemical and biological terror incident in Renfrewshire, is one of many held jointly by the emergency services and the military.

Critics say spending tens of thousands of pounds on a mobile morgue is a waste of money which should go on improving intelligence.

Human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar said: "What I'm conscious of is that this could be seen as a PR stunt, hype surrounding this as in to be seen doing something yet actually in reality not doing very much at all. 7/7 was a disaster for the intelligence services, those men should have been caught before 7/7 was ever allowed to take place and the reality is that whilst we're catching innocent people, the real suspects may well walk right under the noses of the intelligence services. "

The mortuary equipment is made by a company called KBR, a division of the US multinational Halliburton. It is being kept in storage containers at Strathclyde's Road Policing department in Govan ready to be moved at a moment's notice wherever - and whenever - it is needed.

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