Rhona Malone complained about sexism in the single force and said she had been through “absolute hell”.

A joint statement from Ms Malone and Police Scotland said a settlement had been agreed and included a payment of £947,909.07.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone personally apologised to Ms Malone.

Ms Malone’s solicitor Margaret Gribbon said: “Former PC Malone is relieved that this long, costly and stressful litigation is at an end.

“She and those police officers who gave evidence on her behalf performed a vital public service exposing the ugly and rampant culture of sexism and misogyny from within Police Scotland’s firearms department.

“This culture was not confined to one department since the employment tribunal found that, when former PC Malone raised her complaints of sexism and discrimination, she was victimised by staff and police officers of various ranks across multiple Police Scotland departments.

“Former PC Malone’s case must serve as a watershed for Police Scotland.

“For former PC Malone that must, as a bare minimum, start with Police Scotland pledging to publicise the findings and recommendations of the ongoing PSNI’s review along with the steps it intends taking to tackle sexism and misogyny from within its ranks.”

A tribunal heard in 2021 that Ms Malone was made an authorised firearms officer (AFO) in Police Scotland’s ARV unit in 2016 in Edinburgh. She was one of two women in a team of 12 AFOs.

It also heard a former colleague of Ms Malone was told that women should not be AFOs “because they menstruated and that affected their temperament”.

Furthermore, a topless photo of a woman was posted on a team WhatsApp group while a senior officer referred to an investigator from the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner as “a wee lassie”.

The tribunal accepted evidence there was an “absolute boys’ club culture” in the ARV which was “horrific”.

Police Scotland said the Police Service of Northern Ireland was completing its work on an independent review of the decision.