GETTY Barcelona attack fall-out: Edinburgh is 'wide open' to a similar attack, a former soldier has warned

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The Scottish capital is vulnerable to the sort of “low tech” terrorism which has seen cars, vans and trucks used by jihadis to mow down members of the public across Europe in recent months, said Stuart Crawford, writing for think tank Think Scotland. In a chilling warning, Mr Crawford called for the public to help the police in spotting potential terror threats and urged everyone to be aware during the Edinburgh Festival, just days after 15 people were killed in the Barcelona terror attack. He wrote in a blog post for the think tank entitled 'Barcelona attacks - Edinburgh Next?': “Another week, another terrorist outrage in a European city. This time Barcelona (and nearby Cambrils) joined Nice, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and London (three times) in the list of recent targets for ISIS’ new terrorism strategy. “Edinburgh next? Well, I hope not – I hope not ever. But it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility. We all need to take responsibility for our own, our fellow citizens, and our visitors’ safety and welfare. Be nosy, be questioning, and alert the police to anything even mildly suspicious.”

Barcelona terror attack: Pictures from the scene Fri, August 18, 2017 A white van has mounted the pavement and driven towards pedestrians in the Spanish city's tourist hotspot of Las Ramblas Play slideshow 1 of 16 Las Ramblas after a vehicle mounted the pavement and drove towards crowds

With its broad pavements and vehicular access, [Edinburgh is] hardly a difficult target for those who seek to do us harm Stuart Crawford

He said Edinburgh was particularly vulnerable during the Fringe, when tens of thousands of people visited the city for the comedy and drama festival, packing streets, bars and restaurants. Mr Crawford said: “Edinburgh is even more at risk during Festival time, when it’s difficult at times to walk along Princes Street on account of the crowds. Again, with its broad pavements and vehicular access, it’s hardly a difficult target for those who seek to do us harm. “Elsewhere in the capital I know temporary vehicle barriers have been installed which may well put of potential attackers, but the scale of the problem means they can’t be everywhere.” The former office said Scotland had been relatively lucky to have avoided the sort of terror attack which has plagued many other European cities since 9/11 but warned this did not mean it was an unlikely target.

He said: “Glasgow Airport attack aside, Scotland has managed to avoid the worst excesses of terrorism in the past. Even the airport attack was the result of the failure of a London plan to plant bombs there. Whether this is because our security services up here are particularly adept, successful or lucky I don’t know. “There is a school of thought that argues that the longer Scotland goes without terrorist activity the less likely it will happen at all. I am of the opposite view; that the longer we go without a major incident the more likely we are to have one in the future.” Mr Crawford urged the public to remain aware. He said: “What can we do about it? Well, only so much. 'Be vigilant' is not exactly a helpful exhortation, but 'be aware' might be. We can’t be complacent and just trust it won’t happen to us.

GETTY Barcelona attack: 15 people died in a terror attack on the Spanish city

“These days I find myself warning my children to keep their wits about them when they’re out and about. At a government level, the installation of permanent anti-vehicle barriers would seem to make some sense, but would be a costly and time-consuming exercise. We have them already outside the Scottish parliament and we might have to get used to seeing them elsewhere. “We can defeat these cowards masquerading as jihadists, but it will take a big effort from all of us to do so.” Police Scotland has launched Project Servitor to “deter, detect and disrupt criminal and terrorist activity” during the Festival. They explained in a statement: “Project Servator will see highly visible yet unpredictable deployments of specially trained officers around the clock to keep people safe – at venues, on the transport network and on the streets themselves in the run up to, and during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017.

GETTY Edinburgh's streets are packed during the annual festival