£1m payout for gun PC victimised by top cops
Firearms officer says atmosphere in unit was ‘toxic’
POLICE Scotland has paid out almost £1million to a former firearms officer who took legal action against the force for being victimised by senior cops.
Ex-PC Rhona Malone – who worked in Bathgate and Livingston – won a tribunal in October last year against the force after shocking claims.
The tribunal ruled the culture in an Edinburgh armed response unit was “horrific” and a “boys club”.
After Rhona’s claims of victimisation were upheld, the force has now agreed to a payout of £947,909.07.
They said: “The Chief Constable has provided a personal apology to Ms Malone for the serious issues highlighted in the Employment Tribunal judgment, including Police Scotland’s poor response when a dedicated and promising officer raised legitimate concerns.
“In the days after the judgement was issued, the Chief Constable made a commitment to commission an external police service to carry out an independent review of the Employment Tribunal decision and make any recommendations which require action by Police Scotland whether they relate to performance, conduct, or culture.”
Police Scotland added the Police Service of Northern Ireland was “finalising” its review. The tribunal earlier ruled that Rhona was an “entirely credible and
reliable witness” but found evidence given by Inspector Keith Warhurst was “contradictory, confusing and ultimately incredible.
In one particular incident after mum-ofthree Rhona joined the unit – which only had one other female officer – Warhurst said he did not want two female officers to patrol together for the “balance of testosterone” and “operational reasons”.
Warhurst also posted images of topless women on the teams’ WhatsApp group and made misogynistic comments.
Rhona said: “I loved my team and would have put my life on the line for them, but the atmosphere and environment was toxic.”