SCOTTISH ministers are to demand extra money from Westminster to pay for the Pope’s security. The Daily Express revealed yesterday that Whitehall had told cash-strapped police they would be left to foot the estimated £70million bill.Now senior Scottish civil servants are preparing for crucial talks at the Foreign Office next Thursday after SNP ministers insisted Westminster should meet the costs of protecting Benedict XVI during his visit to Edinburgh and Glasgow in September.
In a move which threatens to undermine the “mutual respect” agenda being promoted by Prime Minister David Cameron, the Scottish Government raised the prospect of a clash last night by saying Westminster had “prime responsibility”.
A spokesman added: “This week, the Scottish Government was invited, for the first time, onto the main UK planning group for the Papal visit, which we very much welcome. Obviously, as a State Visit, there would be an expectation that Westminster would have a prime responsibility for security costs.
“However, we are very happy to have a productive discussions because of the crucial importance of the Pope’s visit to Scotland.”
It will be the first Papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II’s six-day tour drew huge crowds.
That trip was a pastoral one, but Pope Benedict XVI will visit officially between September 16 and 19.
He will be received by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, on September 16.
It has been confirmed an open-air mass will be held at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park for many of Scotland’s 750,000 Catholics on September 16.
The 450 parishes in Scotland will receive a pro-rata allocation of places based on their mass attendance figures.
SIC: ECUK