Head of Police Scotland announces resignation

The elevation of Sir Stephen to Chief Constable of the national force saw his lack of experience of rural policing bring disastrous failures of judgment like the unconsulted arming of officers and their shocking sudden appearances in highland Inverness.

His decision came amid a spate of controversies surrounding Scotland’s single force.

One such case was that of John Yuill and Lamara Bell, who lay undiscovered for three days after a vehicle crash in July.

The force is also being investigated over the death of 31-year-old Sheku Bayoh in police custody and has been accused of illegally monitoring communications between journalists and their contacts. They rammed through the centralisation of our police service despite warnings. “This could have been avoided if Ministers had taken responsibility”.

“Even now it isn’t too late for Nicola Sturgeon and her invisible Justice Minister to get a grip”.

Sir Stephen House’s decision to step down early will not solve the “deep-rooted” problems within Police Scotland, politicians have warned.

“The early resignation of Chief Constable Stephen House reveals the chaos at the heart of Police Scotland“.

He said: “A new chief carrying on as if nothing is wrong will cement the problems rather than solve them”.

“This isn’t about the job of one man at the top but recovering the fortunes of the wider police force, which is in the doldrums”.

With the Scottish Government itself centrally implicated in the nature and careering of the House regime, the government itself it now under scrutiny on who is next appointed to this job, with what responsibility and with what accountability.

He said: “Sir Stephen has obviously been under enormous pressure since the M9 tragedy – but throughout his tenure he has never been far from controversy”.

Last month, Scottish Labour tabled a motion in the Scottish parliament calling for House’s resignation.

“There have been challenges but we are learning the lessons and addressing the issues”.

“This week’s public meeting of the SPA provides a timely opportunity to assess how Scotland’s policing arrangements are progressing against the aims and objectives of reform, and how the service is performing for the public and for the people who work within it”. “The controversy of this summer has dragged their reputation unfairly through the mud”.

“Over that period, we have seen record numbers of police officers – more than 1,000 higher compared to 2007 – and those additional officers are ensuring communities across Scotland are safe and strong”.

“I also recognise his powerful and long-standing focus on tackling domestic violence and sexual crime.

But let us not forget that the buck stops with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Police Authority on Police Scotland’s failings”.

He added: “I also want to give my honest commitment that where mistakes have been made, we will learn from those mistakes, and any recommendations which will improve the performance of Police Scotland in relation to incidents like this will be taken on board without question”.

Chairman Brian Docherty said: “He has delivered the most significant public sector restructuring in a generation against a background of a brutal austerity agenda”. Chief Constable Sir Stephen House was put in an impossible position.

“As Chief Constable of both Strathclyde Police and Police Scotland he has served the people of Scotland with distinction for over a decade”.

“The policing of major events when Scotland was in the worldwide spotlight such as last year’s Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup was also exemplary”.

President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, Chief Superintendent Niven Rennie, said:”Sir Stephen has successfully brought together eight legacy forces, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement”.