Scots police equality probe should be ‘priority’ says Humza Yousaf

Justice secretary Humza Yousaf has said an independent review into equality issues in Police Scotland should be "prioritised”.

He raised concerns yesterday over the impact of any "discrimination or unconscious bias" after a hard-hitting report last year by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini.

The review into improving police complaints handling, investigations and misconduct issues raised concerns over discriminatory attitudes within the force.

It called for an independent review into equality issues within Police Scotland that Chief Constable Iain Livingstone has pledged to carry out.

Mr Yousaf told Holyrood's Justice sub-committee the findings of the report had to be addressed.

"I found them to be quite stark, quite difficult to read," he said. "I have family members who are in Police Scotland, they are from ethnic minority backgrounds."

The minister said he speaks often to Semper Scotland, which represents ethnic minority officers.

"They have at times raised with me concerns around a variety of matters,” he said. “I know they've raised them directly with the Chief Constable and I've also raised them directly with the Chief Constable, but nothing quite to the level of what we read in Dame Elish's report. "All of us have an interest in ensuring Police Scotland rids itself of any discrimination, whether that's structural, overt or whether that's unconscious bias that exists.”