SCOTTISH Police Authority chairman Andrew Flanagan faces renewed pressure to quit after MSPs said they “do not have confidence in his leadership”.
In a report, Holyrood’s Justice Sub-Committee on Policing expressed “very serious concerns about the standards of governance” at the body and said it “does not have confidence that the current chair is the best person to lead the board”.
The paper comes after the cross-party panel held an evidence session on the running of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) in light of “very serious concerns” from the Public Audit Committee over revelations about his treatment of a former board member.
Moi Ali accused Flanagan of bullying and forcing her out of the organisation after she publicly objected to holding meetings in private.
Flanagan said he had issued a written apology to Ali, which she said had been emailed to her less than two hours before he was to appear before MSPs to answer concerns about harassment and transparency.
An inspection of transparency and accountability issues at the organisation has now been brought forward by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland at the request of Justice Secretary Michael Matheson.
The results are expected in June but last night Mary Fee branded Flanagan’s testimony to the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing “frankly inadequate”, adding: “We do not have confidence in his leadership.”
The report, released last night, says Flanagan’s repeated use of the phrase “I have to accept” when discussing his treatment of Ali does not reassure the committee that he has a “real belief and understanding” that the actions he took and “repeatedly defended were wrong”.
Commenting, Fee said: “Though he was apologetic, we are not confident he accepts he was wrong.
“This issue remains unresolved. We will continue working with the Scottish Police Authority, and other justice stakeholders, until we are confident the governance of the SPA is significantly improved.”
Ex-police officer John Finnie, justice spokesperson for the Greens, said: “Andrew Flanagan said nothing at his most recent appearance in front of the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing which led me to believe that he has learned the important lessons necessary for him to lead the SPA.
“Mr Flanagan’s half-hearted apology, emailing Moi Ali around an hour before his appearance at the sub-committee, epitomises his approach to this whole sorry saga – looking out for his own self-interest rather than that of the Scottish Police Authority.
“In order to effectively chair an important public body it is vital that you hold the confidence of Parliament. It is clear from the views expressed by both the Public Audit Committee and today by the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing that Mr Flanagan lacks that confidence.
“He certainly does not hold my confidence.
“This ongoing situation continues to overshadow the vital work of the SPA and must be resolved sooner rather than later. I would ask Mr Flanagan to seriously reflect on his position.”
Giving evidence to the sub-committee, Flanagan was asked if he accepted there had been “reputational damage to SPA that it may not recover from”.
He replied: “I think we can recover from it, I think there has been some damage there. I think my apology to Moi is a start of that process, it is not the end of the process.
“I have been referred to as bullying – that is not an accusation I do accept.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel