SCOTLAND's police chief has been compared to a football manager on his way out after a run of bad results.
Rank-and-file officers gathered for their annual conference said they believed the "dreaded vote of confidence" from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon suggested Sir Stephen House's days were numbered.
Ms Sturgeon, speaking at the annual meeting of the Scottish Police Federation in Turnberry, Ayrshire, repeated that she had confidence in the chief constable, who has come under fire in recent months over both stop and search tactics and a alleged culture of targets.
To roars of approval from the conference a sergeant , Scott Meechan, asked the first minister what he called "the football manager question".
Mr Meechan said: "After disappointing results, football clubs often deliver the dreaded vote of confidence in support of their manager. This is often swiftly followed by a change of manager with the manager moving on by mutual consent.
"The First Minister recently stated she had full confidence in the chief constable. Should Team Police Scotland expect a new manager?"
Ms Sturgeon replied: "There is no way to rightly answer the football manager question.
"I have confidence in chief constable and I think the police should have confidence in the chief constable and more importantly than that, I think the public should."
To murmurs of approval from her audience, she added: "No chief constable is or ever can be or can ever be allowed to e a law unto himself. That is absolutely the position.
"Like anybody who holds this position, the chief constable will reflect on some of the discussions and debates and disagreements we have seen in recent months and reflect very openly."
Ms Sturgeon clarified that she did not think Sir Stephen was a law unto himself.
Jim Murphy, who was also speaking at the conference, said he did not know Sir Stephen well enough to call for his head. But, stretching the football metaphor, the Scottish Labour leader said: "I think he should do his talking on the field. I will judge him by his results, not his media."
The chief constable's personality loomed heavily over the SPF conference with members reflecting their long-standing anger over targets culture. Conservative leader Ruth Davidson spoke out against Strathclyde tactics being spread across Scotland. Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie - who has had public disputes with both the SPF and Police Scotland, got one of the biggest cheers of the day when he angrily denounced Sir Stephen and his force for denying targets that he said clearly existed. "He has to change his ways," Mr Rennie said of the chief.
An SPF insider said: "You can't lose by criticising a boss at a workers' conference."
The SPF chairman, Brian Docherty, meanwhile had opened the day by warning of an elephant in the room: budget cuts.
Sir Stephen on Tuesday warned of "extreme measures" to balance the budget and complained his force was the only one in the UK to pay VAT, some £24m a year.
Ms Sturgeon said she would fight that issue and pledged to maintain police numbers and conditions. She was joined in that last pledge by all three other party leaders.
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