Police chief lets First Minister off scoot-free
Police chiefs have brushed off claims that Nicola Sturgeon broke the law on a visit to Troon.
The First Minister was the subject of an official complaint - after riding an e-scooter on the prom.
A member of the public subsequently asked Scotland’s top cops to investigate.
Blind charities had also hit out at the pre-election stunt.
But one of the region’s police chiefs insists he was applying “common sense” in not taking any action.
It comes despite Police Scotland’s own website warning that e-scooters are illegal in public places.
However, in a letter to a member of the public, outgoing Ayr chief inspector Brian Anderson said it “would not be proportionate to consider charges against the First Minister”.
She had jumped on board the scooter while paying a visit to Troon beach to support SNP Holyrood candidate Siobhian Brown.
In a letter to the complainant, Chief Inspector Anderson said the e-scooter was used by Ms Sturgeon “for a very short period of time, over a short distance, with limited members of the public present and no wider risk to the public”.
He added: “The scooter was used for an obvious publicity event as part of the Scottish election campaign.
“In all the circumstances of this alleged incident, I applied a
common sense approach to the incident and, as can be the case with any operational incident, made appropriate use of discretion in line with Police Scotland’s Code of Ethics.”
And he insisted that had Police Scotland “received a report about the actions of any member of the public regarding the use of an electric scooter in the circumstances described above then I would have expected the outcome to be the same”.
The member of the public who made the complaint wrote to Chief Constable Iain Livingstone in June and said he’d first reported the issue
to Crimestoppers.
He pointed to Police Scotland’s Christmas campaign last year warning the use of e-scooters was illegal on public paths and roads.
The man said: “So I find it astonishing that Police Scotland would not act and charge the person responsible for breaking the law.
“The only reason that I can think of is that you and your officers are prepared to allow criminality to be perpetrated by the First Minister.
“Yes, that’s correct. Nicola Sturgeon broke the law and Police Scotland are prepared to turn a blind eye to it rather than treat everyone the same under the law.”