THE Liberal Democrats have criticised moves to remove local oversight of police complaints in Fife.

Scottish LibDem leader and MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Willie Rennie said: "The decision to close down local oversight of police complaints in Fife is deeply damaging. This is the real impact of the SNP's centralisation agenda.

"By removing the formal right of local councillors to scrutinise local police complaints, the SNP Government's police reform legislation slammed the door shut on local accountability."

Councillor Gavin Yates the head of the police transition committee at Fife wrote to the chairman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), to express "shock and disappointment" at the moves and claimed it is eroding the "winning formula".

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "This is a matter for the SPA."