SECURITY has been stepped up around Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill following a series of threats from the United States.

Panic alarms have been installed for staff at his Edinburgh constituency office and a CCTV camera is now trained on the office.

The increased security follows hundreds of e-mail threats to Mr MacAskill's office after recent controversy over the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

Police fear the minister or his staff could face attacks from Americans furious over his decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

A dozen messages critical of the move were left on the office answering phone.

Some of the messages left by American callers overnight were described as "horrible".

Threatening Police have also been analysing threatening e-mails from the United States in an effort to establish who sent them.

Officers from Lothian and Borders Police have increased the number of "drive-bys" and have been calling in to reassure staff.