A SENIOR police officer who led the crisis-hit Counter Corruption Unit has been put in charge of the investigation into the spate of gangland shootings in Glasgow.
Detective Chief Superintendent Clark Cuzen, who moved out of the CCU after the unlawful spying operation into journalists’ sources, is now the “lead” officer probing the shooting spree.
The CCU was set up by Police Scotland as a single department for officers and staff to report any concerns relating to criminality or integrity. It was also given responsibility for carrying out internal investigations into allegations of corruption against officers.
However, serving personnel have claimed that the CCU – the real-life equivalent of the unit in TV drama Line Of Duty – has been heavy-handed in its treatment of officers.
In 2015, it also emerged that the CCU illegally used its spying powers in a bid to flush out the suspected sources of a newspaper investigation.
The CCU was supposed to obtain judicial approval for the operation, but the snooping applications were pushed through internally. MSPs on Holyrood’s Justice Committee held hearings on the controversy and invited four officers, one of whom was Cuzen, at that point the head of the CCU, to give oral evidence.
All four officers declined to appear in front of the committee. In his letter to the committee Cuzen flagged up an impending Investigatory Powers Tribunal into the breaches as a reason for why he could not attend: “Until the IPT is concluded I may place myself and others at detriment by providing evidence in a public forum. Taking the above into consideration, therefore, I can confirm that I wish to respectfully decline your invitation to attend the Committee on the February 2, 2016. However, once the IPT deliberations are concluded I would, of course, consider any future invitation from the committee to attend.”
Durham Constabulary has since been tasked with investigating the circumstances of the spying row and is expected to complete its report soon.
In a wider review of the CCU, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland made dozens of recommendations for reform and claimed the unit fell below expected standards in key areas.
Cuzen, who moved out of the CCU after the spying scandal, was then put in charge of a “project” on the ramifications of Brexit for the single force.
Police Scotland has now confirmed that, as well as continuing his work on Brexit, Cuzen is also working on the shootings.
In the last 12 months, Glasgow has seen a series of gangland attacks believed to be linked to the Lyons and Daniels crime clans.
It also emerged last week that the police officer who raised objections to the unlawful spying applications had been sidelined by the force. Sources claim that Detective Superintendent Brenda Smith, one of the country’s experts on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, is believed to have been moved onto “project” work.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The Brexit project is ongoing and Detective Chief Superintendent Cuzen is still leading this. He is also the lead officer for the investigations into a number of shootings and associated criminal activities in the Glasgow area.”
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