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24 Oct 2012
The SNP today announced 12 appointments to the new Scottish Police Authority which will run the single force.
All members will be in place for a four-year period, starting this month.
Reacting, Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont MSP said:
“Eyebrows will certainly be raised over some of these appointments.
“Three out of 12 of these are former SNP councillors, candidates and activists and a further member is closely involved in the SNP-led Women for Independence campaign.
“The SPA is meant to act in the best interest of the whole of Scotland and contain a range of experts.
“The Scottish Conservatives called for this to be written in the legislation but the SNP repeatedly voted against these moves.
“Instead, Scottish Ministers were given freedom to appoint who they liked, and we are left with SNP cronies and sympathisers forming a large chunk of the SPA.”
Notes to editors
At Stages 2 and 3 of the Police and Fire Reform Bill, the Scottish Conservatives lodged amendments which sought to increase the number of SPA members to ensure it adequately represented Scotland’s 8 current police boards.
A Scottish Conservative amendment also sought to explicitly state appointments must “adequately represent the regions of Scotland” and “includes persons with a range of professional expertise”.
These amendments were rejected by the SNP majority in the Justice Committee and the Scottish Parliament.
For more information on the announcement, visit:
