Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 25 November 2020
I thank Liam Kerr for giving Parliament the opportunity to briefly consider the report that Dame Elish Angiolini has produced. As he observed, it is regrettable, and perhaps slightly baffling, that the Government did not see fit to debate the report in its own time, not least at a point at which we are seeing a huge number of statements being shoehorned into the parliamentary timetable.
As others have done, I pay tribute to Dame Elish for her work in producing the report, as well as for her willingness to engage with the Justice Committee, including in relation to her interim findings.
It is worth taking a moment to remind ourselves of the context in which the review was set up. Back in 2017, after the Government’s rushed centralisation of Scottish policing, serious allegations were made against former chief constable Phil Gormley. Instead of being suspended pending investigation of those complaints, Mr Gormley was put on special leave. The PIRC, meanwhile, was left in the dark. Mr Gormley’s return to work was later approved by former Scottish Police Authority chair Andrew Flanagan, who hastily backed down after an intervention by the then justice secretary, Michael Matheson. Shortly after that, both Mr Gormley and Mr Flanagan left their posts.
It is little wonder that, in her interim report, Dame Elish referred to “actual or perceived partiality” due to relationships between senior police and SPA board members that were, in her words, “too cosy”. Susan Deacon alluded to something similar when she resigned as SPA chair at the end of 2019, citing governance and accountability arrangements for policing that were
“fundamentally flawed in structure, culture and practice”.
A year on, and Dame Elish’s final report paints a picture that is no less stark. Her recommendation to remove the option for police officers to avoid investigation by retiring reflects earlier calls by the Justice Committee. Giving the PIRC responsibility for key stages of proceedings involving senior officers makes sense. So, too, does the introduction of greater independence and transparency into all gross misconduct hearings.
However, it is the aspects of the report relating to inclusion and diversity, as well as mental health, that are most striking. I welcome the Labour Party amendment, as John Finnie did. Discriminatory attitudes and behaviours more than two decades after the Macpherson report are wholly unacceptable. We should all be concerned about BAME officers leaving the service or being unwilling to recommend it as a career choice for others. The comments on “underlying sexism” and a “machismo culture” with a lack of willingness to accommodate requests for flexible working are all blunt messages requiring urgent and sustained action by Police Scotland, the SPA and the Scottish Government.
There is also a blunt message on the need for mental health to be of “paramount importance” for the police service. About a year ago, my colleague Willie Rennie highlighted to the First Minister evidence of widespread issues of poor mental health affecting officers and staff. At the time, the cabinet secretary claimed that he was “very satisfied” with police wellbeing. Since then, I have consistently raised the issue with Mr Yousaf, but there is no sign yet of the Government getting to grips with the scale of the problem. That is not good enough. Our police deserve better, the public expects better and Parliament should demand better.