 Rhun ap I victim! The next item of business this afternoon is consideration of business motion 5.787, in the name of Joffas Patrick, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, is setting out a revised business programme for today. I would ask any member who wishes to speak against the motion to press their request to speak better now. I'd ask Joffas Patrick to move motion 5.757. No member has asked to speak against the motion, therefore the question is that we agree motion 5.787. Are we all agreed? Rwy'n credu. The next item of business is a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on security in Scotland. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call the First Minister. I am grateful for the opportunity to give Parliament a further update following the awful events in Manchester on Monday night. In particular, I thought that it would be appropriate to set out the implications of the decision that was taken last night by JTAC, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, to raise the security threat level from severe to critical. I received briefing last night from the United Kingdom Government's national security adviser on the reasons behind that decision—indeed, I have spoken to him again within the last hour. Clearly, it would not be appropriate to go into detail of what an on-going investigation is. However, in summary, the increase in the threat level is due to a concern that the attacker who carried out the atrocity at the Manchester arena may not have been acting alone and that, therefore, it is possible that a further terrorist attack could be imminent. However, it is important to be very clear that it remains the case that no specific threat to Scotland has been identified. In light of the increase in the threat level, I took the decision last night to convene a further meeting of the Scottish Government's resilience committee. That meeting took place in the early hours of this morning, involving the Deputy First Minister, the Justice Secretary, the Lord Advocate, Police Scotland, the Ambulance Service, the Fire and Rescue Service and our regional resilience partnerships. The chief executive of the Scottish Parliament also took part in that meeting. That was an opportunity for us to discuss the immediate implications for Scotland of the heightened security status. Clearly, that is something that will be kept under on-going review, taking account of any intelligence available to the police. As the chief constable indicated this morning, Police Scotland has now established a multi-agency co-ordination centre at Govind police station to lead the response across the country and with key partners. I will visit the centre later this afternoon to see its operations for myself and to receive further briefing about the nature of the response. However, I wanted to outline today, as clearly as is possible at this stage, what some of the practical consequences for Scotland are likely to be over the next few days and what the public can expect to see. I know that there has been media discussion in particular about the use of military personnel to support the police in their duties under what is known as operation temporary. Operation temporary is an established plan for mobilising military support to the police service following a major terrorist attack. The decision about whether to authorise it is a matter for the UK Government. Operation temporary has two distinct phases. The first phase involves the deployment of the military to sites currently provided with armed policing by Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary. That frees up those armed police officers to support police forces across the UK. The second phase involves the deployment of military personnel to support the police to guard specific sites under the control and direction of the police. It is important to stress that, at present, only the first phase of operation temporary has been authorised. What that means in Scotland is that military personnel will be used at civil, nuclear and ministry of defence sites here in Scotland. There are a total of 12 such sites in Scotland, nine ministry of defence and three civil nuclear sites. Those sites, which are not accessible to the general public, will be secured by the military as of today. The presence of military personnel at sites of this nature, both in Scotland and across the UK, will free up the armed police who are normally on duty there. Those armed police will create a contingency resource that can be deployed across the UK. Any decision to make use of that contingency resource in Scotland would be for the chief constable. However, Police Scotland has no plans at this initial stage to do so. It has confirmed that it has reviewed security across Scotland to ensure that the right level of policing is in place and that it can provide that level of policing from within its own resources. That is something that will be kept under review by Police Scotland. It is important to point out that Police Scotland has made significant progress in the last year to ensure that an increase in armed policing to around 600 trained firearm officers in Scotland. It has also increased the number of firearms officers on duty at any one time. As a result of the move to critical, Police Scotland has effectively doubled the number of armed response vehicles on patrol since Monday night. It is likely that the public will see more armed policing on the streets than usual, particularly at transport hubs and around city centres. It is maybe worth stressing at this point, given the understandable attention that Operation Temporary is receiving. We do not currently envisage that military personnel will be deployed on the streets in Scotland or in other public locations. However, as with all operational matters, that will be kept under review by the chief constable. As I said a moment ago, it is likely that for the duration of the increased threat level, the public will see more armed police on the streets than usual, particularly around transport hubs and city centres. I want to be clear that that represents a specific response to the increased threat level following the Manchester attack. The threat level is kept under review and is only kept at this level as long as an attack is judged to be imminent. Therefore, it should not indicate a more general or long-term shift in Scotland to having armed police on regular patrol. As I said yesterday, the police are also completing a review of every public event due to take place over the next few weeks. That includes a full review, together with the Scottish Football Association, of this weekend's Scottish Cup final, to ensure that there is an appropriate deployment of police and stewards. This work is on-going, and the other major events being assessed include the visit on Friday of President Obama, the Edinburgh marathon due to take place this weekend, and the Lisbon Lions memorial event in Glasgow. In addition, guidance is being issued to organisers of all large events. I stress that the aim of the police is to allow public events to continue as far as possible as normal. However, the public should anticipate additional safety measures at these events. Those measures may well include full body and bag searches and the presence of armed police. For that reason, as well as urging the public to co-operate with those measures, I would urge people to make sure that they leave extra time if they are going to an event or travelling through an airport or a train station. In all of this, our very clear aim is to strike a balance between protecting public safety and ensuring that day-to-day life goes on as normal. Those enhanced security measures are part of how we aim to do that. As always, the public has a role to play as well. My message to the public is that this is clearly a very anxious time, but there is no need to be alarmed. Many of the steps that are being taken now are precautionary. I repeat that there is no intelligence of a specific threat to Scotland. However, I ask the public to be vigilant and to report any concerns or suspicions that they may have to the police. Before I finish today, I also want to provide a further update to the chamber on the specific impact of Monday night's awful events. My thoughts and I am sure those of everyone in the chamber remain with the families of those who have lost their lives, those victims who were injured and the people of Manchester more generally. I can advise the chamber that Police Scotland family liaison officers are currently in Manchester providing support to the families of Laura McIntyre and Ailey MacLeod from Barra. I am aware that there is significant information in the media about those two young girls, particularly about the condition of Laura. However, their families have requested privacy at this extremely difficult time, and for that reason I do not intend to go into further detail today. I simply want to assure Parliament that as much support as possible is being and will continue to be provided to them at this unimaginably difficult time. I know also that we will all want them to know that they are very much in our thoughts. More widely we know that in total seven people have now presented at hospitals in Scotland. However, I am pleased to report that all have since been discharged from hospital. It is of course possible that other people who witnessed the terror attack or its immediate aftermath have returned to Scotland and are feeling distressed or upset. Anyone with concerns about themselves or their children should contact their GP for support. Health boards have been re-issued with information, providing guidance to adults and children who have witnessed traumatic events. As I mentioned in my statement yesterday, the events of Monday night were upsetting for all of us, but they may have been especially upsetting for young people. That is a time to ensure that parents and teachers talk to children about any concerns that they have. We remain in contact with young Scott and with Education Scotland and local authorities to provide the guidance and support that they need to help with those conversations. As I said earlier on, I know that this is an anxious time for everybody across the UK. Again, my message is that people should be vigilant but not alarmed. The steps that I have been describing today are precautionary. Most importantly of all, people should continue to go about their day-to-day business as normal. The Scottish Government resilience operation will remain active for the foreseeable future to ensure strategic co-ordination of our overall response, and I will continue to update Parliament as required. The justice secretary will also be happy to speak directly to any member who has concerns or queries. Finally, let me end—I am sure on behalf of all of us—by putting on record again my heartfelt thanks to our emergency services. Their bravery and dedication is not news to us, but at times like these it never fails to inspire. We are grateful to each and every one of them. With those remarks, I am happy to answer questions. The First Minister will now take questions for the next 20 minutes. If members wish to ask a question, I would encourage you to press your request-to-see button. Ruth Davidson. I thank the First Minister for that statement. The defence and security services have been clear about the threat of further attack, which is why the threat level has been raised to critical. In Scotland, that means visible armed policing at key locations, a review of security and hosting at major sporting and entertainment events, and further enhanced security checks to ensure that people are kept safe. We should be vigilant and patient as access to certain events and locations take longer, but what we should not be is fearful, nor should we be cowed. As chief superintendent Roddy Irvine of Police Scotland said this morning, it is worth remembering folks who are armed Scottish cops are still just Scottish cops. If you say hello, they will say hello back. If you smile, they will smile back. As we face down the current threat, I know that the sight of armed police officers and service personnel at key locations may be unsettling, but there can be no doubt that their response is necessary, and we thank them for their professionalism and bravery. It is vital that the police and the security services have everything necessary to get on with the job in the coming days, and as we said yesterday, the terrorists will not win. By meeting their cowardice with calm, implacable defiance, we will show that to be the case. Can the First Minister reassure the chamber that if Police Scotland requires any extra resources over the coming days, particularly this weekend, the Scottish Government will step in to help? I can give that assurance to expand slightly on that. As I have indicated to the chamber, I am in regular discussions right now with the chief constable and with Police Scotland. He participated in our meeting last night and I have spoken to him today. I will see him in Glasgow later on today. He has assured me that, from within the resources that he has, he is able to provide the enhanced coverage, particularly around armed police officers that I have spoken about today. However, I will continue to ensure that the Scottish Government, myself, the justice secretary and the entire Government laze closely with the police to make sure that we are responding to any need for support and resources that they request. I think that there are two points that I made in my statement, one of which I will add today that we should bear in mind to give us a level of assurance. Justice Secretary made a statement in this Parliament about this very issue some months ago. The police decided to increase the trained armed officers that they had available to them. That has been working progress throughout this year and, as a result, there has been a significant uplift and there are now around 600 armed officers available for deployment by the police. Secondly, and this is something that we have discussed many times in this Parliament over the past decade, we have, as a Parliament, made sure in our budgeting that we have maintained the number of regular police officers on the streets of Scotland. Both of those moves give our police a level of resources that gives them the confidence that the chief constable is able to give me. However, all of that said does not take away from the enormous pressure that our police officers work under, not just during times like this but generally. We will continue to do everything that we can to make sure that our brave police men and women have the support that they deserve. Kezia Dugdale In light of the new threat level, extra security is visible in this building, around Westminster, embathies and other civic locations. We are all too aware that many of the recent attacks across Europe have been at markets, high streets, music venues or sporting occasions. I wonder whether the First Minister can provide any additional reassurance about what people across Scotland can expect going about their everyday lives, and, if there are any practical steps that the public can take to support the police in their work, separately to that? The First Minister Let me answer that question in three quick ways. First, I think that the most visible difference that the public, the general public—not everybody in every single street corner in Scotland, but the most obvious visible difference will be more armed officers on the streets. They will be particularly around, as I said, transport hubs, crowded places, city centres but I think that there will be a lot of people in Scotland who do not normally see armed police, who will see armed police while this increased threat level is in place. Secondly, in terms of what the general public can do, the public has such a key role to play here. It is the responsibility of the police to keep the public safe, but we all know that the co-operation of the public is an important part of that. My message again to the public is to be vigilant. Anything at all that is of concern or creates suspicion, make sure that that is reported to the police. Generally, be co-operative and patient, as I know the vast majority of the public will be. There will be inconvenience over the next few days or however long this increased threat level lasts. It will take longer for people to get into places that they are visiting and there may be other inconveniences, but if you are finding yourself taking longer to get into a sporting event or some other event, just remember that the reason for that delay is for your own safety. Generally, in terms of events, I said yesterday and I repeated today that there is a review of all public events on going. Without getting into too much detail, there is clearly a broad spectrum of public events that take place. There are events such as football matches that take place in very confined spaces over a limited period of time. There are then less precise events such as the Edinburgh Marathon this weekend or people at other outdoor festivals and market places. The police have all that under review in their assessment process. Because of the different nature of some of those events, the responses will vary from one to the other. However, we must have confidence and trust in the police to carry out those assessments and make sure that they are providing the appropriate level of response. I can assure the chamber that that work is well under way. Patrick Harvie. Those who are asked to keep our society safe have a difficult job to do, and they have our support. We have always accepted that, in the appropriate circumstances, the deployment of armed personnel can be appropriate and necessary, but the judgment is a finely balanced one. The sight of armed personnel, whether police or military, can give reassurance. It can also increase public anxiety. What are the criteria that we need to apply for the additional deployment of armed personnel under operation temporary to be stood down? Secondly, can I ask for an assurance, or for the First Minister to seek an assurance from the UK Government that that additional deployment will have no impact on the legitimate expression of peaceful protest, including, for example, by the peace movement at MOD sites? First, in terms of the deployment of armed police, that balance that Patrick Harvie talks about is very important. I know that the police believe that that balance is important. When we have discussed issues of armed policing in this chamber before, sometimes it struck me that we do not always—I take my share of the responsibility for this—we do not always distinguish between what are two often separate issues. First, is the number of armed police we have trained and able to be deployed, and secondly the circumstances in which they are deployed. In terms of the first, the police have been increasing the numbers, but secondly in terms of the deployment, it is very important to stress that routinely, outside of periods like this one, the general rule of policing in Scotland is that we do not have routinely armed police patrolling the streets. There are very limited circumstances in which armed police are deployed, so firearms incidents and incidents where loss of life is an issue. During instances like this, we will see armed police deployed more generally in our streets, but that is why I was very careful to say today that we should not assume that that is a general move to more routine armed policing of officers on patrol. That is a specific response. How long that response will last will be very much driven by the decisions taken by JTAC. The JTAC decision to increase the threat level did not, in and of itself, mean that Operation Temporal would be in vote, but that decision was also taken last night. The duration of both of those things will very much flow from the progress and the investigation that is under way. The threat level is because there is a fear that this attacker was not acting alone and that there is a risk of an imminent attack. That is not my decision to do that or to downgrade it again, but the decision will be driven by the state of that investigation. Secondly, in terms of civil liberties and protest, our police in Scotland do an excellent job in supporting people's absolute right to peaceful protest, and I would not expect that to be different at this time. All of us, in all walks of life, should be mindful of the additional pressure that our police are under right now. As part of our contribution to meeting the needs of this particular circumstance, we should be as co-operative with the police as they go about their task. Peaceful protest is an absolutely fundamental part of our democracy, and we should never forget that it is our democracy that those attackers are trying to undermine, and we should not allow them to do that. Willie Rennie, followed by Christiane McElvie. I am grateful for the First Minister's statement and for the concern that she has expressed on behalf of us all to the victims, the families and the rescue services who are still dealing with the aftermath of this horrific incident. I have complete confidence in the painstaking and intelligent work that is being carried out by the security services and the recommendations that they have made. They have to strike a balance. We want our country safe, citizens should have confidence, all without creating a climate of fear. At Edinburgh today, in the railway stations, on the buses, in the streets, like in the Royal Mile, people are out in their numbers going about their normal lives. That tells me that the balance is right. I ask the First Minister how often she expects to review those arrangements and how she will judge if the balance is being maintained. As I said, all those arrangements are under on-going review, and while I have a significant part to play in those assessments, let me stress that, in terms of security and intelligence and the level of the threat that will be reviewed and judged on an on-going basis by JTAC, rightly and independently. In terms of the resources that the police in Scotland deploy, those judgments and assessments will be made on an on-going basis by the police, led by the chief constable, because that is independent operational responsibility. I, through the Scottish Government resilience arrangements, will make sure that we are providing the strategic oversight of all that, making sure that we are understanding those judgments, giving support to the outcomes of those judgments and providing the vitally important accountability to Parliament and to the public. Those judgments and assessments will be made by all those different players in that on an on-going basis. I undertake, as I did in my statement, to keep Parliament updated and advised of any changes to that, as often as Parliament considers it appropriate. Christian McKelvie called on word of Fraser. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Given that we have the freedom to live in a country that has policing by consent, does the First Minister agree with me that, in times such as these, it is crucial that we embrace and uphold the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law? Absolutely. That is fundamental and, at the heart of all that, we know—we discussed it yesterday and discussed it in the past—that its purpose is to undermine democracy and the rule of law and the values and freedoms that we all hold so dear. It is vitally important that we do not allow them to do so. That question has particular relevance right now, as we are in the middle of a general election campaign, where all of us, as politicians, will also want to strike the right balance between respect for those who are affected by the atrocity, but also making sure that we do not allow the ultimate expression of democracy and election to be undermined. We will all be mindful of how we strike that right balance in terms of getting back to the business of the election campaign as quickly but also as decently as possible. We talked about that in the aftermath of the Westminster attack. There are so many things in this chamber and elsewhere that we disagree on, and that is absolutely legitimate. However, I think that we can all come together and unite around the core fundamental values and be absolutely resolute in our determination that they will not be undermined. The First Minister mentioned in her statement the planned visits of President Obama to Scotland later this week. Can the First Minister tell us if discussions have taken place directly with President Obama's team about this, and if we are expecting this to go ahead as planned? First, Police Scotland is carrying out a review of all of the major events, and that will include the one involving President Obama. Obviously, there will be security additional to that, provided by Police Scotland for a visit of this nature involving somebody in his position. Those discussions are undoubtedly on-going, and I do not think that it would be appropriate to get into any more detail of them. I am not anticipating anything other than that event that will go ahead, but I want to be very clear that the police are undertaking a process here of reviewing all of those events that will lead to them making decisions. The aim of not just this visit but all of those events is to allow them to go ahead. I am not talking here about the President Obama visit, but, in all of those visits, it cannot be guaranteed that none will be cancelled over the next couple of weeks. The aim is to make sure that arrangements are put in place that allow those events to go ahead and allow them to go ahead safely. I fully expect that to be the case with the visit of President Obama on Friday. Ivan McKee, to be followed by Claire Baker. Thank you. I tax like that in Manchester, sadly, and all two common occurrence in many countries around the world. Can I ask the First Minister what on-going discussions have been held with the Governments of other countries regarding the security threats that all nations face? There are obviously on-going discussions, principally with the intelligence and security services of other countries, to share intelligence and to make sure that, as much mutual protection is given from that sharing of information, the Scottish Government is kept updated in terms of intelligence or security threats through principally the national security adviser. We have discussions on a whole range of matters with other Governments on an on-going basis, but that principle of intelligence sharing is one that I know very much at the heart of the approach that is taken to intelligence and security in the UK. Claire Baker, to be followed by Claire Hockey. Can the First Minister expand on what on-going discussions there are with the UK Government about the use of operation tempera? While the First Minister stresses that there is no specific threat to Scotland, many people will be looking to travel across the UK this holiday weekend. What advice and reassurances can be given to them? The First Minister. In terms of operation tempera, it is an established process dealing with military support for the police after terrorist attacks. It is a decision of the UK Government to invoke operation tempera. As I explained earlier on, it has two phases and the first phase of it was invoked and authorised last night. It is not inevitable that when the threat level goes up that operation tempera is invoked, but that did happen last night. The duration of that will be very much a matter for the UK Government, but it will be driven very much by the progress of the investigation. I stress again, I am repeating what I said earlier on, but the reason for the increase in the threat level is a concern that this individual is not acting alone, that there may be others out there and that there may be other attacks that are imminent. Clearly, as the investigation, as we hope it does, progresses and arrests and brings to justice anybody who may be involved in that, that risk hopefully will lessen, but those are judgments for the security services to inform and for the UK Government to take. In terms of the public overall, I think that obviously I am making very clear as I did yesterday that we have no intelligence of a specific threat in Scotland. That is the case as of now. It stands to reason that that may change in future, but that is the case right now. The measures that I am talking about here are vitally important, but they are precautionary. In many respects, across the UK, much of what is being done just now is precautionary because of that concern that I spoke about. It is not for me to give those messages for other parts of the UK, but I think that I can say with some confidence that the message that I am giving in Scotland would be the one that is given by Governments in other parts of the UK. Be vigilant but do not be alarmed. Those are precautionary measures as a response to the circumstances in Manchester and the progress of the investigation so far. They are there to keep people safe and people therefore should not be alarmed but we continue to be vigilant. Claire Hawkead will be followed by Jackson Carlaw. To ask the First Minister what resources are available to those in Scotland who have been affected by the attack in Manchester. I touch on some of that in my statement. We have on the ground in Manchester Police Scotland family liaison officers who are providing specific support to the families of the two girls from Barra, and that support will continue for as long as is necessary. In addition to that, for people returning home, I outlined yesterday some of the work that Police Scotland were doing in partnership with the British Transport Police to identify any possible witnesses coming back to Scotland who may have information that is important to the investigation. There will also be among those people or separately people who have come back who perhaps did not witness anything but nevertheless will be experiencing and upset or trauma because of what they have been through. We are working with the health service to make sure that the appropriate advice and information is available for people in those circumstances. There is also—I have said this again today as well as yesterday—I am particularly mindful of the impact on children, not just children who are at the concert but children who are watching these scenes on their television who will feel unsettled and scared. Therefore, we have worked with Education Scotland and councils, as well as Young Scot, to make sure that there is information available to help with conversations with young people. For those who have not seen the information that Young Scot distributed yesterday, I recommend having a look at it because it is very good. Anybody who might be a parent or speaking to a teacher or anybody who has interaction with young people would find it very useful to try to help that. There is a whole range of support in place. Again, like all aspects of this, we will keep this under review to make sure that anybody who has been affected and who needs support is able to access that support in an appropriate way. Presiding Officer, this outrage has taken place during a general election campaign, and at some point the parties will decide that it is appropriate to recommence campaigning. However, there may be many small community organisations who will have been planning to hold public hustings meetings and will hear what the First Minister has said about public gathering. Some of those will attract very considerable numbers of people and will wonder what their responsibility should be in those circumstances. I wonder what advice and assurance the First Minister would give. A very relevant question given the time that we are in just now. My general advice would be to go ahead as planned, but I would supplement that by saying that anybody who is organising any local event, not just the local hustings, has any concerns or who just wants some advice and assurance to contact their local police commander and get that advice locally. I know that the police will be very happy to provide that advice locally. It goes to the heart of what I have tried to say throughout this. We want people to carry on as normal. We do not want life to grind to a halt or to become abnormal here, but people just have to take sensible precautions. Carry on as normal if you have any concerns. The police are there to try to address those concerns for you. Thank you, members. That concludes our statement on security. We will now move on to the next item of business, which is portfolio questions. We will just take a few seconds for members to change seats.