The former head of counter-terrorism at the Metropolitan Police has criticised Alex Salmond's behaviour after the terror attack on Glasgow Airport, claiming that 48 hours of vital police time was spent negotiating to stop a turf war developing between Edinburgh and London.

Andy Hayman told The Times last night that he was unable to speak to his senior officers as often as he wanted because they were busy trying to persuade the First Minister to agree that the investigation should be handled by London.

“The first two days after a terrorist attack is the most important time for collecting evidence and during that time my most senior person was involved in negotiating over handing over the investigation,” Mr Hayman said yesterday.

“Why were we even having such a discussion when it was abundantly clear to everyone that this was an international incident which could not be dealt with locally?”

Jurisdiction for the investigation passed to the authorities in London two days after the attack on the airport on June 30, 2007 after Elish Angiolini, the Lord Advocate, gave her authorisation.

Mr Hayman described discussions with Mr Salmond, Ms Angiolini and Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, as intensely frustrating. “I couldn't speak to my senior officer as often as I would have liked because he was locked in these political discussions and it took us two days to get a grip of the investigation as a result.”

Opposition parties demanded yesterday that the First Minister explain the allegations by Mr Hayman, who also touches on the episode in his book The Terrorist Hunters.

“It is shameful that the First Minister of Scotland should behave in such a disgraceful manner, trying to exploit an incident on the scale of the Glasgow Airport attack for his own personal gain,” Ian Gray, the Scots Labour leader, said. “While Strathclyde Police behaved in an exemplary manner Alex Salmond let Scotland down.”

David Mundell, the Shadow Scottish Secretary, said that the reports demonstrated the need for a new relationship between the Scottish government and Westminster. “It is further evidence of the appalling relationship between between the Scottish and UK governments,” he said. “Mr Salmond always tries to portray the fault as being with London, but if this is true, it is clear evidence of his culpability,” he added.

In The Terrorist Hunters, Mr Hayman claims politicians are guilty of “hissy fits” and “some amazing playground antics”. He told The Times: “Mr Salmond is no different.”

A spokesman for the First Minister denied the claims, saying that neither Mr Salmond nor Mr MacAskill had any contact or dealings with Mr Hayman and were not involved in any of the judicial proceedings.

He added: “The Scottish government is fully committed to the fight against terrorism and will work with jurisdictions, south of the Border and elsewhere, to ensure the safety and security of ordinary citizens and the prosecution of the perpetrators of terrorist acts wherever they may be.”

John Neilson, the Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, who was headed the investigation into the attack, denied that politicians had influenced the inquiry. “I don't know of any political interference that impacted on the investigation,” he said.

A spokesman for the Crown Office also dismissed Mr Hayman's version of events, saying: “This bears absolutely no resemblance to events in Scotland that weekend.

“The Lord Advocate and her team worked tirelessly with the support of the Scottish ministers over the course of the weekend on June 29 and 30 to ensure that the complex legal issue of jurisdiction was considered quickly but authoritatively.”

Mr Hayman also claimed that a turf war threatened to break out after the arrests of suspects Bilal Abdullah and Kafeel Ahmed. Because the men were arrested in Glasgow they could have been tried under Scots law but they were tried in London where they had earlier tried to bomb a nightclub.

Times Recommends

• What makes the perfect mum?
• To keep me stress-free, no more awareness days, please
• What do lottery winners buy?