The chairwoman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has announced she is stepping down from her role.
Susan Deacon, who held the role for two years, said she believed Scotland's police governance was "fundamentally flawed"
Her departure comes after widespread suggestions - even from Police Scotland - that her board was not doing a good job at scrutinising the force.
READ MORE: Police Scotland watchdog Susan Deacon resigns
But Ms Deacon, in a blistering resignation letter to the Justice Secretary, suggested the current system could not be made to work.
Read her resignation letter to Humza Yousaf in full below:
Dear Humza
I write to tender my resignation as Chair of the Scottish Police Authority.
I consider it a privilege to have played a part in developing and strengthening policing in Scotland and I am pleased that I leave this role with our police service in a much stronger place than it was when I was first appointed, exactly two years ago.
I have, as you have frequently acknowledged, worked tirelessly to try and ensure that the SPA operates effectively, and that public confidence and trust in policing is maintained. I have also made every effort to attempt to make the existing statutory framework operate as I believe it was intended.
In truth, however, I have increasingly become convinced that the governance and accountability arrangements for policing in Scotland are fundamentally flawed, in structure, culture and practice, and I conclude that there is little more I can do to make these arrangements work effectively. I would suggest that the Scottish Government thinks afresh about how the police service is scrutinised and held to account and how, or if, a better separation between politics and policing, and indeed between the police service and those who oversee it, can be achieved. I would be pleased to share my thoughts and reflections on these matters with you, and indeed with the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee, at any time.
May I thank you for the opportunity to have served in this role and hope that our police service continues to develop effectively in the future.
Kind regards
Susan Deacon CBE
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