Alarm-raising officer hailed by politicians
The former undercover police officer – frozen out of the job she loved after reporting the shambolic, possibly criminal, finances of a special operation unit – was hailed yesterday.
Politicians praised her actions while condemning her bosses for unfairly making her a scapegoat, effectively ending her career and putting her under unbearable stress.
A judge has ruled the actions of the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency were unfair and risked the mental health of the woman, known as Mrs K. She could be awarded up to £1 million compensation after Lord Brailsford’s judgment on Thursday.
She had raised the alarm in 2011 after taking charge of the financial management of undercover operations and found records in chaos, with thousands, possibly tens of thousands of pounds, unaccounted for in the shambolic files kept by the officer formerly in charge.
The detective sergeant, referred to in court documents as DSG, took responsibility for the debts and said Mrs K was not involved. Mrs K was later ordered to buy a garden incinerator so that the paperwork could be burned.
She was later transferred out of the Special Operations Unit to a job in a witness protection unit, and was told it was a temporary move.
However, Chief Superintendent Stephen Whitelock, one of her superior officers, admitted he decided she had no future at the SCDEA.
However, that decision was questioned by Lord Brailsford, who said she was “deliberately misled” about a move to the witness protection unit.
In 2013 Mrs K was granted ill health retirement from the police because she was suffering stress, anxiety and depression.
She brought a damages claim for £1m against Police Scotland. Lord Brailsford ruled in Mrs K’s favour and the judgment said further procedures may be required to assess the compensation she was due.
Police Scotland said it was considering the terms of the judgment.