THE Scottish Police Authority has never failed to disappoint over the course of its ill-starred five year history.
Vic Emery, the SPA’s chair, resigned after complaints by board members over inappropriate comments allegedly made.
His successor, Andrew Flanagan, was also a disaster. Flanagan came up with a plan for more secrecy and less transparency. He then criticised a colleague for questioning the proposals and paid for the intervention with his job.
The SPA has also been poor at finance, perhaps its key function. Not only did the watchdog approve lavish relocation expenses for a deputy chief constable, but it also shelled out an unjustifiably high sum on temporary senior staff.
Board members have been poor at holding the single force to account. Criticism dished out by MSPs and the media has been deserved.
Another timebomb appears to be nestling under the watchdog. Amy Macdonald was the SPA’s director of financial accountability when she used whistleblowing legislation to allege a misuse of funds.
Although, the exact nature of the allegations are unknown, the MacDonald row has now landed on the desk of the Justice Secretary. As we reveal today, The Justice Secretary Michael Matheson was aware of the whistleblowing allegations as far back as May last year.
How did he react? What exactly did he do? These are the questions he will inevitably have to answer at an appropriate moment. It seems the SPA, and the Government, are hurtling towards another policing scandal.
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