THE former chair of the Scottish Police Federation is to be Scotland’s new guardian of Freedom of Information law.

MSPs will confirm David Hamilton as the Scottish Information Commissioner tomorrow.

He is set to succeed Darren Fitzhenry, who has held the position since 2017 and completes his term of office October,

Formally, the Scottish Parliament will pass a motion nominating Mr Hamilton to King Charles III for the fixed six-year appointment which comes with a starting salary of £77,260.

Under the 2002 Holyrood which introduced freedom of information, Mr Hamilton’s role will be to promote and enforce the FoI regime north of the border. 

The Commissioner takes appeals from people seeking information and issues legally enforceable decisions; publicises information rights; and promotes good practice among the public bodies under a duty to disclose information unless an exemption applies.

Mr Hamilton recently retired from the Police Service of Scotland after nearly 27 years, and was latterly chair of the Scottish Police Federation representing 18,000 officers.

A Glasgow University engineering graduate, he was a founding director of 1919 magazine, and is treasurer of the anti-hate charity Remembering Srebrenica Scotland.