Margaret Gribbon was giving evidence to MSPs who are considering new police complaints and misconduct legislation.

She represented former firearms officer Rhona Malone in her Employment Tribunal case. Ms Malone was awarded £948,000 in 2022 and was given a personal apology from the chief constable.

Ms Gribbon said, however, that little had changed.

She told MSPs: “I am afraid from the cases I have dealt with, and am currently dealing with on behalf of police officers, nothing I have seen unfortunately has convinced me there has been any sufficient change since the Rhona Malone judgement. I think it is inevitable there is going to be another case, or cases, of that type.”

She added: “I think the complaints handling procedure, it is crucial to that. Because in the Malone case they just didn’t deal with her complaints of sexism and misogyny.”

She said there had been a “weaponisation of the complaint handling procedure” by the police and its professional standards department (PSD) – which handles complaints against officers.

This was, she said, particularly the case “in those clients I have represented, the ones who are standing up and whistleblowing and being courageous and brave enough to call out sex discrimination”.

Of the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill, she added: “I don’t think it is going to make a massive amount of difference in practice.”

The bill proposes increasing the power of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner but Ms Gribbons said the changes would only have any value where allegations are made against senior members of the force.

These changes would “not affect the overwhelming majority of complaints against the police”, meaning that in the “vast majority of complaints” it will still be the police investigating the police.