Livingstone is new top man at Police Scotland

Acting chief is given role full time after topping list of candidates

Iain Livingstone has been named as the new chief constable of Police Scotland.

The senior officer has been acting chief for the force since last autumn, standing in when former chief constable Phil Gormley was suspended during a probe into gross misconduct allegations, which he denied, before quitting.

Mr Livingstone, whose current rank is Deputy Chief Constable, will take up his new post on August 27 after topping a shortlist of candidates from across UK forces interviewed by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

His annual salary for the four-year fixed term post is £216,549.

Mr Livingstone, who was a solicitor before joining Lothian and Borders Police in 1992, said he is “proud and humbled” by the appointment.

He said: “Policing has been my life and the demands on it are developing faster today than at any time in my career.

“It is my job now to lead and drive change in policing to adapt to those challenges and to build on the values, ethos and traditions of policing in Scotland that first attracted me to this profession 26 years ago.”

Mr Livingstone stepped in as interim chief constable when Mr Gormley took special leave last September amid investigations into claims of gross misconduct. He resigned in February saying it would be “impossible” for him to resume policing duties.

The resignation was the latest in a series of controversies for Police Scotland, which was formed in 2013.

Sir Stephen House quit as chief constable in 2015 when he had been under pressure over call handling, a delayed response to a fatal crash on the M9, armed officers on routine patrol and stop and search policies.

Mr Livingstone’s career has included external attachments to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Lord Bonomy’s review of corroboration. He sits on the Scottish Sentencing Council.

Iain Livingstone.