Chief tells MSPs of 25 complaints against police unit

A TOTAL of 25 complaints have been made against police counter-corruption officers in Scotland in the last seven years, according to Police Scotland’s chief constable.

Phil Gormley told MSPs on Holyrood’s Justice Committee there were 108 separate allegations detailed in those complaints.

The most recent complaint includes the criminal allegation that an officer attempted to pervert the course of justice, as well as 11 further non-criminal allegations.

This is still the subject of investigation, Mr Gormley said, while the other complaints have either resulted in no action being taken or officers being given “corrective advice”.

Mr Gormley had been asked to detail criminal complaints made against members of the Counter Corruption Unit carrying out their duties by Margaret Mitchell, convener of the Justice Committee.

She wrote to him seeking “further clarification”, including what crimes or offences have been alleged and how many claims of misconduct had been made between April 1, 2009 and June 30 this year.

In response, Mr Gormley told her: “For completeness, the total number of complaints within this time period is 25 and the total number of allegations is 108.”

The letter added: “I have asked the chief constable of Durham Constabulary, Mike Barton, to undertake a review of complaints made against staff in Police Scotland’s Counter Corruption Unit.”

Mr Barton has already been tasked with leading an independent investigation into a breach of guidelines by the Scottish force when it accessed data in a row linked to journalists’ sources.