Strathclyde Terror Cops Pocket £1.7m Overtime

[TonyGosling]

Airport Terror Attack Cost Public £1.7M
Nov 11 2007 By Norman Silvester

Exclusive - Huge Overtime Claims After Airport Terror Strike Force Demand Wage Cash From Government

MORE than £1.7million was spent on police overtime in the aftermath of the Glasgow Airport terrorist attack.

http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2007/11/11/airport-terr or-attack-cost-cops-1-7m-78057-20091763/

All leave was cancelled to let senior detectives provide as many officers on the ground as possible to probe the events of June 30 and deal with other possible attacks.

The figure was revealed in a report last week by outgoing Chief Constable William Rae.

The force have applied to the Scottish Government to pick up part of the huge wages bill.

The cost of extra pay due to the terror attack contributed to a massive £2,518,210 overspend by Strathclyde Police last year.

Officers got £1,555,800 in overtime from June 30 to the start of September.

A further £155,590 was paid out in national insurance payments and £52,510 in day-to-day expenses such as travel - bringing a total cost to the taxpayer of £1,763,900.

Part of the overspend was also the cost of policing ongoing protests at Faslane nuclear submarine base.

Rae's report to the Strathclyde Joint Police Board said: "The main part of this overspend relates to overtime (£1.98million).

"Of this, £1,555,800 is due to overtime worked as a result of the recent terrorism attack at Glasgow Airport.

"The remaining overspend on overtime of £424,760 can be attributed to major operations, in particular the cost incurred as part of the Faslane 365 demonstrations."

On the day of the attack, hundreds of detectives worked round the clock with anti-terrorist colleagues. Extra security was provided by uniformed and plain-clothes officers at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where one of the suspects was treated.

Officers were on guard duty at police stations across the force area and Glasgow and Prestwick airports.

Patrols were also stepped up in areas with vulnerable targets, such as public buildings.

Hundreds of officers claimed overtime - paid to all constables and sergeants - for long hours worked in the days and weeks after the attack.

An average shift lasts eight hours but many officers worked shifts of 12 hours or more.

One senior officer said: "There was no way this was a gravy train. Many had to be called off holiday and days off to deal with the terrorist crisis.

"All officers were doing long hours because it is what they are trained for, not because they were paid extra."

Les Gray, chairman of Strathclyde Police Federation, said: "There is no way the chief constable could have predicted he would have needed this amount of money for overtime. "For example, a round-the-clock armed police guard was needed for the terrorist treated in hospital and that would have been very expensive.

"I think there should be assistance from the Government."

It was the day the schools broke up for the summer when a Cherokee jeep was driven into the entrance of Glasgow Airport and set on fire.

The driver of the vehicle, Khalid Ahmed, 27, died in Glasgow Royal Infirmary from burns four weeks later. The passenger, Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah, will stand trial next year.

Strathclyde has 6800 sergeants and constables and it is believed most who worked in the aftermath of the attacks were paid overtime.

Strathclyde Police said: "The Joint Police Board has applied to the Scottish Government for funds to cover the costs of policing at the Glasgow Airport attacks."

The £72million bill for police overtime at the G8 summit in 2006 was met by the then Scottish Executive, the Treasury and the Foreign Office. The Scottish Government said: "The request will be considered."

[Bongo]

So what's your take on it Tony? All you have done is post a story that we all saw nearly 3 weeks ago....

...What are you trying to say?

[TonyGosling]

I always look for a profit motive.

Now. Shall we both pretend to be a bit thick....?
Who all saw this story?

[PaulStott]