Police will not be patrolling next week’s Highland’s “family friendly” music festival with armed officers.
Highland councillors and civil rights chiefs have called for a public probe into the row over armed police officers on Scotland’s streets.
Chief constable Sir Stephen House’s decision to put firearms officers on the beat has been met with fierce opposition – especially in the Highlands.
But a spokeswoman for the force has confirmed that it does not plan to send armed officers to patrol the Belladrum Festival near Beauly, although officers that are called to support colleagues might be carrying guns.
Police Scotland had to recently defend its use of armed officers at the end of the Highland Cross charity sporting event in Beauly.
But a spokeswoman for Police Scotland said no armed officers will be deployed to patrol the Belladrum event – which attracts around 17,000 people daily and is this year headlined by Tom Jones, Razorlight and Frightened Rabbit.
She added however: “In line with the standing authority on armed policing when armed officers are not carrying out their specialist duties they are there to support their colleagues in local policing divisions through regular patrols and routine tasks .
“At the Highland Cross event, armed officers were seen in the vicinity of the event. As we clarified then, those officers were undertaking routine duties and were not deployed to police the event itself.”
The Scottish Government say it is an “operational matter” for Sir Stephen to decide but armed officers have been pictured patrolling the High Street in nearby Inverness – a city with one of the lowest crime rates in the UK.
Human rights group Justice Scotland said the move could cause carnage. A spokesman added: “Routine deployment of firearms officers could risk the lives of the public.”
Fifty-nine Highland councillors backed a motion by deputy leader David Alston to ask Sir Stephen to make a U-turn on the move. The police said they would consider the request in September.
Police Scotland say there are 275 armed firearms officers deployed on a shift basis across the country – less than 2% of the total number of officers.
Belladrum Festival, now in its 11th anniversary year, takes place at Belladrum Estate near Beauly over the weekend of August 8 and 9.
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