Police have given the all-clear after part of the Scottish parliament was evacuated when a suspicious white powder was found in an envelope sent to a Conservative MSP.
The envelope contained an invitation for Jamie Halco Johnstone to celebrate the 200th anniversary of a regional newspaper in the Highlands, but two identical letters sent to two other Tory MSPs did not contain any powder.
No details about the powder have been officially released but a Holyrood spokesman said the incident affected the MSPs’ area of the building, which was cleared of all members and their staff as a precaution.
Emergency vehicles from the Scottish fire and rescue service and Scottish ambulance service attended the scene, and surrounding pavements were cordoned off.
Edward Mountain, one of the three Conservative MSPs to receive the letters, told the Guardian there was no white powder in his envelope. The other invitation is reported to have gone to Liz Smith, an MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife region.
“The guy in Jamie’s office opened [the letter to Halco Johnstone] and his fingers were covered in a white powder when he did it,” Mountain said, as he spoke to ambulance crews outside Holyrood.
“Unfortunately by the time he came to tell us not to open it I had already opened the invitation we had received. There was nothing in my invitation apart from the invitation, as it were, so we have been asked out because it is the same package that has been received by Jamie.”
Mountain, like Halco Johnstone an MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, said the invitation was to a Highland council event to mark the Inverness Courier’s 200-year anniversary.
Asked whether that suggested the powder was harmless and not threatening, he said: “You know, we’re in very safe hands. I’m confident they’re on top of it. I don’t want to speculate. It’s not for me to speculate but they’re telling us what to do and we’re doing it.”
Mountain said he was not worried about his own safety. “I actually think that given the people around us we’ve got no need to be nervous. I have been a soldier for 12 years, faced worse than this. This is just good hands, get on with it.”
Later a Scottish parliament spokesman said: “The emergency services have confirmed the incident is now resolved.
“Parliamentary business as well as all tours and events will go ahead as planned this afternoon. The MSP block is now open and members and their staff can return to their offices. The Scottish parliament building remains open to the public.”
