MEMBERS of the board overseeing the country's most sensitive police force have not been security vetted, according to Scotland's Justice Secretary.

At a private meeting with union officials, Kenny MacAskill said the accountability of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) was "insane". He also criticised bodies representing local authorities and police chiefs.

The Nationalist administration last week published its plan for a single police force, which MacAskill says will be operational by April 2013.

Supporters say the move, which will abolish the eight existing forces, will save £1.7 billion over 15 years. However, in his private meeting, MacAskill was asked if savings were achievable and said that was "the million-dollar question".

Unions representing rank and file officers and police staff have criticised the policy, with Unison particularly fearful about the impact on jobs.

In August, as a way of building the case for change, MacAskill had a meeting behind closed doors at the Grosvenor hotel in Glasgow with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF).

A full note and transcript of the question-and-answer session has been leaked to the Sunday Herald and shows MacAskill expressing robust views on a range of policies.

One issue was the accountability of the SCDEA, which is a special force for investigating serious and organised crime such as drug dealing and money laundering.

The SCDEA is currently monitored by the board of another public body, the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA), a set-up blasted by MacAskill.

"Having met with SCDEA there's something fundamentally wrong in the structures of accountability in Scotland. When the accountability for SCDEA is the board of SPSA and half of them aren't even security vetted, so they are not able to account or monitor SCDEA, that's insane," MacAskill said.

The body's board is comprised of chief constables, councillors and others with backgrounds in business and the public sector.

A spokeswoman for the organisation said the board had undertaken "routine employment vetting", but not the more rigorous checks mentioned by MacAskill.

She added that the board provided oversight on corporate governance and finance.

The Justice Secretary also criticised the accountability structure of the existing eight police forces, which are overseen by boards of councillors.

The status quo is seen as establishing a clear link between local communities and the forces which serve their areas.

However, MacAskill said he doubted whether the status quo was "all singing, all dancing, fantastic", adding: "There is an awful lot of folk being invited in by the Chief Constable for a nice cup of tea and they rubber-stamp this and sign it off then they are out the door again."

In an attempt at putting the police restructuring into a wider context, MacAskill strayed from SNP policy by suggesting that other public sector bodies may merge: "We're coming into a period of time where there may be changes to other structures, not simply police structures. Aberdeenshire Council headquarters are located in the city of Aberdeen. At some stage or other they might just decide that actually, maybe we should just have an Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire Council. These things are fluid."

On the opposition of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) to the single force idea, MacAskill was dismissive: "Cosla is erupting at the present moment but my view is so be it."

He also had a dig at the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS): "Much as I have a good relationship with ACPOS, I don't sometimes think they're necessarily the font of all wisdom."

Asked whether the planned savings for a single force were achievable, he said: "It is the million dollar question. It's not just yourselves that have asked me that. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the First Minister have asked me that."

Lewis Macdonald, Scottish Labour's justice spokesman, said: "This is further evidence that the SNP say one thing in public and another behind closed doors.

"These comments will offend the many SPSA and police board members who help scrutinise our police authorities while the news that the future of Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen Council is 'fluid' will be a surprise to people in the north east."

A spokesperson for MacAskill said: "As outlined in the Scottish Government's recent response to the consultation on police and fire reform, the SPSA and SCDEA will be integrated into the new single police service, and arrangements are in place to make sure the new force is fully accountable, including plans for improved local accountability."