A police chief has failed in his bid to become the next chief executive of Inverclyde council.
Neil Richardson, the outgoing deputy chief constable (DCC) of Police Scotland, and another candidate failed to secure the necessary support of councillors yesterday.
As revealed in the Herald, Richardson and Aubrey Fawcett, the council’s Corporate Director, were shortlisted to replace John Mundell as chief executive of the local authority.
Read more: Police chief Neil Richardson shortlisted to be local authority chief executive
At a private session yesterday, both individuals made their case in front of eighteen councillors.
Rules stipulated that a successful candidate needed the backing of two thirds of councillors present – in this case, 12 – but neither individual reached this total.
It is understood nine councillors backed Fawcett, seven supported Richardson and two abstained.
The council will consider its next move at the end of the month.
Read more: Police chief Neil Richardson shortlisted to be local authority chief executive
Richardson has over thirty years’ experience in the police service following lengthy stints in the legacy Strathclyde and Lothian & Borders forces.
He was made deputy chief constable of the single force, but his time at Police Scotland was marked by controversy.
He was in charge of the troubled i6 project and had portfolio responsibility for the Counter Corruption Unit, which used its spying powers in a bid to flush out journalists’ sources.
In March, the force announced Richardson, 50, would not seek a second term as DCC.
Read more: Police chief Neil Richardson shortlisted to be local authority chief executive
In a statement released yesterday, Inverclyde Council Leader Stephen McCabe, said: “I am disappointed we have not been able to make an appointment but it is vital that the successful candidate for this crucial position commands the confidence of a clear majority of the Council. Every councillor has an equal say in who becomes the new council Chief Executive. The council will now examine the position further on 30 June.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel