Spy row deputy chief constable Neil Richardson to leave Police Scotland

Richardson’s exit brings to an end a decorated policing career that started in 1985 at the legacy Lothian and Borders force.

He stayed at L&B for over 20 years and held operational posts in community safety, firearms and CID, as well as getting a secondment to the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA).

In 2006, he became an Assistant Chief Constable at the now-disbanded force before joining Stephen House at Strathclyde as a deputy chief two years later.

However, it was his time at Police Scotland – an organisation he helped create – that put Richardson firmly in the public eye and led to unprecedented scrutiny of his performance.

Richardson and House were not said to be close, but he was appointed Deputy Chief Constable (Designate) at the single force in November 2012, which effectively meant he was the boss’s stand in.

Crucially, he also had responsibility for an area of policing, Professional Standards, that would define his term as DCC.

In 2013, the force announced the launch of a Counter Corruption Unit (CCU) to root out dirty cops.

Richardson was the DCC in charge of the Unit and was the force’s disciplinarian, but the CCU became renowned for using what rank and file officers believed was a heavy-handed approach to pursuing trivial issues.

The Unit’s own compliance with the law then fell under the spotlight after it emerged that the CCU had itself committed illegal practices.

Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), officers can acquire details of an individual’s texts, emails and phone records as part of an investigation. However, the RIPA does not provide officers with carte blanch to do as they please.

From March last year, police officers wishing to use the RIPA to flush out journalist’s sources had to obtain judicial approval.

When a Sunday newspaper published an expose of the old Strathclyde force’s failings in the unsolved murder of sex worker Emma Caldwell, the CCU tried to find out if serving and retired officers had passed information to the media – but did so without getting a judge’s permission.

The illegal spying scandal triggered parliamentary hearings – at which Richardson was one of the key witnesses – and it is also expected to lead to high-profile tribunal cases.

One of the serving officers who was unlawfully and wrongly targeted by the CCU in the Caldwell case, Detective Inspector David Moran, blasted Richardson in March for the evidence he gave to MSPs: “Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson made statements which are extremely injurious to my reputation and I believe him to be guilty of misconduct in misrepresenting to you what happened in respect of the police investigation into me.

“He clearly made a statement asserting my guilt in the matter under investigation and made it appear to the committee that Police Scotland had erred only in failing to obtain judicial approval.

“In this statement to the committee he attempted to partially justify Police Scotland’s actions by stating that I had leaked information to [retired officer] Gerard Gallacher. This was outrageous and completely false. He could have had no evidence of this as it simply wasn’t the case.

“At best he was completely misinformed or at worst it was made up. Either way he has severely scarred my reputation publicly.”

Richardson’s retirement was announced in the middle of the controversy, but Police Scotland insisted the DCC’s departure was unconnected to the saga.

Policing insiders believe the end result of the CCU spying scandal will be the abolition of a Unit once heralded as a great leap forward.

Similarly, Richardson had portfolio responsibility for the troubled I6 project, which has failed to be delivered on time.

I6 was intended to replace over 100 IT and paper-based systems, but the scheme has been dogged by delays and finger pointing.

Richardson himself said the project had been the “most difficult” thing he had ever worked on.

As he prepares to leave the force, senior policing figures have delivered a mixed assessment of his time at Police Scotland.

Sources say Richardson brought a modern perspective to policing and was opposite of a Life on Mars-esque copper.

He was also, according to one contemporary, comfortable with the language of managerialism that characterised the single force.

Phil Gormley, who beat him in race to succeed House, had kind words for his departing DCC: “Neil Richardson leaves behind a significant contribution to modern policing in Scotland which will last for years to come.”

However, solicitor Aamer Anwar, who represented some of the officers investigated by the CCU, said Richardson's CCU's became associated with the "abuse of police power", adding:

“Richardson stepping down is an important first step in restoring rank and file morale, but fundamental reform of Professional Standards and the disbanding of the CCU must now take place if Police Scotland really wants to be seen as our public servants rather masters.”

Graeme Pearson, a former Labour MSP who has also been a senior police officer, also said history may not be kind to the outgoing DCC: “Holding the post of deputy chief constable at Strathclyde was challenging, but the same job at Police Scotland has become even more difficult. It was extremely disappointing that he was unable to distance himself from the controversies at the CCU and in relation to i6.

“There will undoubtedly be elements inside the force who will remember him for these issues, rather than for the significant contribution he has made to policing for over three decades.”

John Carnochan, a former Detective Chief Superintendent at Strathclyde Police, also said: “I think he is likely to be remembered for the wrong reasons, for failing to deliver i6 and the IOCCO row.”