NICOLA Sturgeon has failed to back the beleaguered chair of Scotland’s police watchdog after MSPs said they no longer had confidence in his leadership.
The First Minister passed up the chance to defend Scottish Police Authority (SPA) chair Andrew Flanagan while on an election campaign event in Edinburgh.
On Thursday, the Holyrood justice sub-committee on policing issued a damning report on Mr Flanagan’s controversial running of the authority, which oversees Police Scotland's £1bn budget.
It also wrote to Justice Secretary Michael Matheson and HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland Derek Penman expressing its "very serious concerns" about the standards of governance at the SPA, which had been criticised for control-freakery and excessive secrecy.
Mr Flanagan has also been criticised over his treatment of board member Moi Ali, who quit earlier this year claiming she had been punished for raising issues over transparency.
After initially denying wrongdoing, Mr Flanagan issued a belated apology to Ms Ali just before appearing before the committee earlier this month to be quizzed on his behaviour.
With support for Mr Flanagan ebbing away at Holyrood, the committee said it “does not have confidence that the current chair is the best person to lead the board".
Mr Flanagan said he and the SPA board would "consider this report very carefully over the coming days and reflect on its contents".
Asked about the report and Mr Flanagan, Ms Sturgeon: “We’ll consider the report of the committee very carefully. We’ve been very clear about our views about the need for the SPA to be open and transparent.
“We’ve seen this week how important it is we’ve got a really well functioning police force with the proper lines of accountability, so we’ll consider the report carefully.”
Asked as she was walking away if she Mr Flanagan still had her confidence, Ms Sturgeon kept walking and did not reply.
Committee convener Mary Fee said Mr Flanagan's testimony to the sub-committee had been “frankly inadequate” and MSPs “do not have confidence in his leadership”.
Committee member John Finnie said Mr Flanagan should "seriously reflect on his position."
The SPA last week decided to return to holdings its meetings in public after criticism of Mr Flanagan’s drive to have them held in secret or with minimal advance information to the media.
A further report from the police watchdog, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, on the SPA is expected to be published next month.
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