Sexism row gun unit ‘is a good place to work’

A FIREARMS unit at the centre of a sexism row is ‘a really good place to work’, a female police officer said yesterday.

Rhona Malone, 43, has taken Police Scotland to an employment tribunal over alleged discrimination, claiming women were ‘set up to fail’.

Inspector Keith Warhurst is alleged to have claimed in an email that female firearms officers should not be on duty without a man.

The email said: ‘For operational reasons I don’t want to see 2 x female officers deployed together when there are sufficient male staff on duty. This is based on my experience in the firearms and routine policing environment.’

Yesterday Chief Inspector Linda Russell, who dealt with much of the grievance raised by Miss Malone, told the tribunal: ‘We were engaging in cultural change for all officers in armed policing. It was a really good place to work.’

Miss Malone was dissatisfied at Chief Inspector Russell handling the grievance due to connections to those involved. The tribunal continues.