Don't hand terrorists a victory by alienating those you protect

IT WAS a bright day in October, and as usual I was racing towards Waverley Station in an Edinburgh taxi. A couple of days before, I had been involved in a meeting about a new civic initiative with a group of Scottish Government civil servants, who had asked for a copy of a report I had mentioned, so I passed by St Andrew's House, on my way to the station, to drop off the information.

But no such luck; for the uniformed guard behind the reception desk could only tell me that "we don't accept letters here", and that it was a matter of security. I protested; I said that whatever the risk posed to Scottish Government civil servants b...