The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Claim of bullying over watchdog chairman
Chairman of Scottish Police Authority rejects claim by Moi Ali
A former board member of Scotland’s police watchdog has accused its chairman of bullying her and claimed he is unfit to continue in the role.
Moi Ali resigned from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) board after raising concerns over transparency at the organisation.
She publicly objected to proposals to hold committee meetings in private, only to receive a letter from chairman Andrew Flanagan expressing his dissatisfaction and suggesting it would not be fair for her to continue to attend committee meetings.
Ms Ali, who quit the board shortly afterwards, also told Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee she did not believe such a letter would have been sent to a man.
Mr Flanagan rejected the bullying claim.
In an opening statement to MSPs, Ms Ali said: “My removal from committees was, in my view, straightforward punishment for speaking out.”
Asked by Labour MSP Monica Lennon if Mr Flanagan’s letter amounted to bullying, Ms Ali said: “Yes. I believe that it did.”
Asked if she believed Mr Flanagan would have sent the same letter to a man, Ms Ali said: “No, I don’t think he would.
“It’s interesting because after I received it, I spoke to (fellow board member) Iain Whyte because he expressed very similar views to me at that board meeting, the only difference was that he didn’t ask for his to be minuted.
“I asked Mr Whyte if he had received a similar letter and he said no, he hadn’t’.”
Responding to Ms Ali’s comments, Mr Flanagan, who was not present at the committee, said: “I reject the suggestion that I in any way bullied Moi Ali.
“Moi’s reasons for resigning are well documented and publicly available, and make no reference to this assertion.”
Former board member Brian Barbour told MSPs Ms Ali’s account “makes me question” Mr Flanagan’s suitability for the role of chairman.
However, Mr Whyte said the letter was “a matter between them”.
He added: “Moi chose to resign, now I don’t know why Moi chose to resign. Had I been in that position . . . I don’t think I would have resigned.”
Current board member George Graham said: “My experience of him as a chair, and I feel duty-bound to say this, is not as any kind of control freak.”