My sorrow over M9 tragedy
Sturgeon’s apology to families as she halts police call centre cuts
NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday apologised to the families of the young couple who died in the M9 crash tragedy as she called a halt to controversial police call centre closures.
It came after a damning report warned that Police Scotland’s cost-cutting had put the public at ‘additional risk’.
A police watchdog said call centre workers face ‘unacceptable pressure’ and called for cuts in the civilian workforce to be suspended. The report on call-handling examined the M9 trag- edy, in which young mother Lamara Bell died after being left in a crashed car for three days. Her partner, John Yuill, was already dead when the couple were eventually discovered by Police Scotland officers.
The initial findings of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), published yesterday, forced Miss Sturgeon to make a public apology to the victims’ families. Last week, the single force’s chief constable Sir Stephen House revealed plans to quit, and the critical HMICS report is a further blow to the SNP’s calamitous police reforms.
Last night, Miss Bell’s brother, Martin Bell, said the family felt ‘let down’ by police and the Scottish Government. He added: ‘It has been terrible, it’s a disgrace how it has been handled. It’s just a nightmare. The system is a mess and it needs to be fixed. I think it [Police Scotland] needs to go back to a regional service, it’s an absolute shambles.’
At First Minister’s Questions yesterday, opposition MSPs challenged Miss Sturgeon over her party’s record on policing.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said the pressures on control rooms had not ‘ come out of the blue,’ adding: ‘They were predicted as a direct consequence of this Government’s centralisation agenda.
‘The then Justice Secretary was warned that this would happen, the Scottish Police Authority was warned that this would happen and
‘It’s a disgrace how this was handled’
the Scottish Government was warned that this would happen. Why did nobody take any notice?’
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson directed HMICS to study police call-handling following the deaths of Mr Yuill and Miss Bell, who lay undiscovered for days despite a sighting of their car being reported to the Bilston Glen police call centre. The ultimate plan is for the under-pressure centre in Midlothian to take on an even greater workload as other control rooms are closed.
But the interim HMICS report said remaining personnel in the understaffed Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee call centres are facing ‘unacceptably high’ pressures and the practice of diverting overflow calls to the Central Belt is creating ‘additional risk’ to the public.
It recommended the centres ‘ be maintained and staffed appropriately’ until a planned new controlroom in Dundee is fully operational.
The First Minister said that she would delay plans to shut the Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee callcentres, as recommended by HMICS. Confirming to MSPs that the report’s findings would be accepted, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Police Scotland have already apologised and on behalf of the Scottish Government I want to say how deeply sorry I am for what those families are going through.’
Mr Matheson said yesterday that £1.4million would be spent to recruit and retain control room staff.
Miss Bell’s son Keiran is now being cared for by his father, Lee Burt.
Last night the family said in a statement that no one should be ‘scapegoated’ but added: ‘For us it is about why a young boy will face many difficult years of going to sleep and waking up without his mummy.
‘If there is to be a legacy from this tragedy, then l essons must be learned as soon as possible, so that no child has to experience what our Keiran is going through.’
The full HMICS report is expected next month.