Fury after lost disc turns up in locker
the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to pay him £10,000 damages.
He said yesterday: “One of the first lectures to new recruits at the Scottish Police College involves chain of evidence procedures.
“If the chain isn’t properly adhered to, it can lead to al legations of corruption, the collapse of a trial, the sacking of an officer.
“Losing or mislaying potential evidence would rank among a police officer’s worst nightmares.
“Any officer faced with that situation would, almost literally, ransack their desk, their lockers, the relevant police office to locate the item in question.
“In this case, however, an item sought by no less than HMICS, but unable to be located, is discovered when an officer is ‘cleaning out his locker’. “
Livingstone said in a letter to the justice committee that a CCU officer “was closing their personal locker when they discovered the missing CCTV disc among the items within”.
He said: “The content has been viewed by senior managers from the CCU who confirm it is the missing disc, which has now been lodged as a production in line with Police Scotland procedures.”
Meanwhile, Chief Constable Phil Gormley is facing fresh questions about a senior officer misleading Holyrood about a hunt for our sources. Neil Richardson, then a deputy chief constable, told the justice committee that publishing the information could have hindered a “live” murder inquiry.
But HMICS later found there was no live inquiry or major investigation team established at the time.
Committee convener Margaret Mitchell has asked Gormley in a letter if he agreed Richardson was inaccurate and if “corrective action” was being taken.
She also wants to how many criminal complaints and allegations of misconduct have been made against the CCU.
Claims of a bullying culture and allegations of trumped up charges have been made against the CCU. Lawyer Aamer Anwar called them a “rogue unit operating beyond the law”.
Losing or mislaying potential evidence would rank among a police officer’s worst nightmares