Sir Stephen House resigns as SPA dissects ‘difficult summer’

Sir Stephen House, chief constable of Police Scotland has today announced he will leave his post by December 2015.

His resignation comes amid a series of controversies for the national police force, which Sir Stephen has headed since its creation in 2013.

He made the announcement as the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) met in Stirling to discuss the “difficult summer” experienced by Police Scotland.

Sir Stephen was originally expected to leave the top role in Scotland’s national police force next September, at the end of his four-year contract.

Advocate Niall McCluskey, who has called for more scrutiny of Police Scotland, was one of many lawyers to welcome Sir Stephen’s departure.

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

“The whole way that Police Scotland has operated has been of immense concern, so his departure is no surprise.

“It is to be hoped that a new chapter can now be opened and that both the operation and scrutiny of Police Scotland can be improved.”

Solicitor Aamer Anwar told Scottish Legal News: “On a personal basis, I take absolutely no pleasure in the resignation of Mr House, but it was becoming inevitable after a series of disasters for Police Scotland.”

He said that Sir Stephen had become a “convenient scapegoat” despite a lifetime commitment to policing, but his resignation would not solve institutional shortcomings in the national police force, including a “lack of transparency and accountability”.

He praised Sir Stephen for putting a zero tolerance strategy at the heart of policing in Scotland, especially in regards to sexual assault and domestic abuse, which he said would have been “impossible” a decade ago.

Mr Anwar added: “If people believe that Mr House’s resignation will fix things, then they are blind to what has gone on.

“What is really important for me is that the next person lined up for the job has a vision and doesn’t repeat for Police Scotland the same problems.”

Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the early resignation “reveals the chaos at the heart of Police Scotland”.

The SPA, which scrutinises the national force, discussed a number of high-profile incidents in Stirling today, including the case in which a crashed car was discovered by police three days after it had been reported.

The public meeting, which started at 11am, is expected to be the last full SPA board meeting to be chaired by Vic Emery before he steps down as SPA chairperson next month.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Emery said: “We all acknowledge that it has been a difficult summer for policing with a number of issues and incidents drawing considerable scrutiny, comment and opinion.

“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.”

He highlighted call handling, staff absence, contact with the police, and budget pressures as key issues to be addressed.

The meeting is being streamed live over the Internet here.