MP told to 'leave Scotland or die'

A sinister poster depicting a hand holding a lighted match beneath a house and the words "English Out of Scotland" was sent to newspapers and political parties' headquarters, the trial of two members of the Scottish National Liberation Army trial was told yesterday.

An accompanying communique, headed "Flame", claimed responsibility for hoax bombs which were sent to several people - and warned two men, the Clydebank and Milngavie Labour MP Anthony Worthington and Derek Roxborough, 59, a Tyneside-born craftworker, to "leave Scotland or die" within 30 days, the High Court in Stirling was told.

The Daily Record and Herald newspapers in Glasgow, the Press Association in London and the Scottish Labour and Tory parties all received similar posters in the post in April last year. All the letters bore an Aberdeen postmark.

Terence Webber, 30, and Kevin Paton, 27, both deny conspiring to further by criminal means the aims of the Scottish National Liberation Army and Flame, and 17 charges of planting and sending hoax letter bombs and issuing death threats.

Const Ian Gourlay of Lothian and Borders Police said he went to the Conservative Party headquarters in Link Place, Leith, Edinburgh, on 29 April last year and was given a letter which had arrived that day - which included a poster showing a hand holding a lighted match under the picture of a house.

A communique headed "Flame" climbed responsibility for the attacks, and added: "All attacks were carried out in a professional manner as part of a plan of continuing escalation using sophisticated techniques and materials."

Mr Roxborough said he received a hoax letter-bomb after writing to newspapers and being interviewed on television to condemn anti-English prejudice. Malcolm Dickson had criticised comments from anti-"white settler" groups on the subject of English immigration to Scotland.

The trial was adjourned until today.