Plans for Police Scotland to take control of law and order on railways described as ‘ill-conceived and dangerous’

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said specialist skills developed over years would be lost in the transfer which was announced last week by justice secretary Michael Matheson.

The Smith Commission recommended railway policing be devolved to Holyrood and the UK government has included this in its draft agreement of the powers to be transferred.

Under the Scottish government’s plans, BTP would cease to operate as a separate force in Scotland, even though it wanted to continue providing its service under oversight from Holyrood rather than Westminster.

RMT said the government was “riding roughshod” in pressing ahead with its plans.

General Secretary Mick Cash (pictured) said: “It is sheer arrogance on the part of the SNP Government that they are ignoring the advice of the BTP and those who work in the railway industry and are forging ahead with plans to merge this important and distinctive policing operation into the wider force.

“Skills and expertise in dealing with the specialist policing needs on the railways would be lost for ever and would result in an inferior policing service which would impact on staff and passengers alike.

“RMT stands alongside our sister rail unions in opposing these ill-conceived and dangerous plans.”

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish government has had a clear position on the British Transport Police since before the implementation of Police Scotland and we wrote to the UK government in 2011 on this issue.

“We agree with the cross-party Smith Commission recommendation that responsibility for their functions should be devolved.

“The Scottish government is keen to ensure that the specialist skills and knowledge of the railways held by BTP officers is maintained.

“Over the course of 2015, we will continue to engage with all stakeholders including the BTP, the BTP Authority, the BTP Federation and the rail industry on how this can be most effectively achieved within our national Police Service.”