Nothing to see here..move on
Minister’s meeting over future of chief constable was not recorded
NO OFFICIAL record was made of a high-level meeting to discuss the future of Scotland’s chief constable, it emerged yesterday.
Opposition politicians last night blasted Justice Secretary Michael Matheson for failing to ensure minutes were taken of the talks in November.
His discussions with Andrew Flanagan, then head of the Scottish Police Authority, led to the SPA reversing their decision to allow police chief Phil Gormley to return to duty.
Lawyers for Gormley, who is being investigated over allegations of gross misconduct, claim Matheson acted unlawfully. But he insists he did not exceed his authority.
The Justice Secretary said yesterday he would be “happy” for any record of the meeting – which was also attended by civil servants – to be made public.
But a spokesman for the Scottish Government later confirmed no such record existed. The Scottish Tories claimed that the “immediate suspicion of the public will be that the SNP Government have something to hide”.
Justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: “By failing to take minutes, Michael Matheson has only made this situation worse. This was a meeting of monumental importance, and failure to record the information properly is unacceptable.”
Matheson has told MSPs he sought the meeting after learning that the SPA planned to allow Gormley to return to duty.
But Flanagan was unable to give an assurance that due process had been followed and the decision was reversed the following day.
Matheson insists that his concerns were purely over the procedures followed.