Chief constable job never too far from controversy

Phil Gormley was appointed to Scottish policing’s top job in December 2015 and took up his £212,000-a-year post the following month.

A former deputy director general of the National Crime Agency, he is also a former chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary and was a commander in the Metropolitan Police.

He replaced Sir Stephen House, whose tenure had been dogged by controversies over stop-search, armed policing and call handling.

It was not long before Mr Gormley found himself the subject of negative headlines after it emerged he lived rent- free for a time at Police Scotland’s Tulliallan Castle in Fife.

A potentially more damaging revelation was that the new chief constable had headed a division of the Metropolitan Police responsible for a controversial unit which used undercover officers to spy on campaign groups in both Scotland and England.

Police Scotland confirmed Mr Gormley had been head of Special Branch in 2006 – the division which had responsibility for the Special Demonstration Squad.

Mr Gormley has confirmed he will give evidence to the Undercover Policing Inquiry – which is looking into undercover police operations in England and Wales – if called to do so.