POLICE MEDDLE CLAIMS

Ministers are accused

POLICE authority members have accused Scottish Government ministers of meddling in their work.

And they claim they have been left “toothless” in their oversight of Police Scotland because of the behaviour of the Government.

The views of the members of the troubled Scottish Police Authority are revealed in an academic paper.

Dr Ali Malik, of Edinburgh University, carried out the study for a PhD paper on police governance and accountability.

Interviews with anonymous members were held between March 2015 and May last year. Some may have since left the board.

One said: “Every time we try to bite, the Government remove a tooth … I have been shocked, absolutely shocked at the level of Government interaction.”

Another said: “There has been a perception and the threat that if we … were to upset the chief constable then the Cabinet Secretary would intervene to stop us.”

The SPA have been dogged by infighting and resignations and were criticised earlier this year for “weak financial leadership”.

Opposition MSPs said the SPA were undermined by Government interference.

Labour justice spokeswoman Claire Baker said: “Confidence in the ability of the SPA to do its job is at an all-time low.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said improvements had been made at the SPA and added: “We would reject any suggestion of influencing the board or preventing it from functioning effectively.”