Scottish Labour calls for police chief's resignation

Scottish Labour have tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for the resignation of Police Scotland's chief constable Sir Stephen House.

The call follows the deaths of John Yuill, 28, and Lamara Bell, 25, in a crash on the M9.

Although the crash was reported on Sunday 5 July, it was not until a second call was made three days later that police investigated.

Sir Stephen has said he will not resign over the force's handling of the case.

He has the backing of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The chairman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), which oversees the work of the police, has also said he has "confidence" in the chief constable.

Mr Yuill and Mr Bell were found inside the crashed car on 8 July.

Mr Yuill is thought to have died on impact after the Renault Clio left the M9 and went down an embankment on the outskirts of Stirling.

Ms Bell was critically injured and died in hospital on Sunday 12 July after suffering broken bones and kidney damage which was caused by dehydration.

Sir Stephen has admitted that the initial information received about the crash was not entered into police systems.

A review of police call handling in Scotland has been announced by the Scottish government and will be carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS).

It will be in addition to an ongoing independent inquiry specifically into the M9 incident by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc).

Scottish Labour's motion calls for Sir Stephen to resign with immediate effect.

The party's justice spokesman Hugh Henry said there had been a number of failures since the creation of Police Scotland.

On Sunday the party released figures which showed that more than 53,000 working days at Police Scotland had been lost to stress in the past two years.

Between January and March this year, more than 10,000 absences were recorded due to anxiety and depression.

However, Police Scotland said the numbers were falling and services had not been adversely affected by absences.

Mr Henry said: "The public are rapidly losing confidence in Police Scotland after a series of major mistakes.

"Revelations of recent days appear to confirm that the tragedy on the M9 wasn't an isolated incident and was the result of a number of failures since the creation of Police Scotland.

"Sir Stephen House should resign with immediate effect.

"Only when the chief constable moves on can the Scottish government fully investigate the failings in Police Scotland and get a grip on policing across our country."

He added: "There are also serious concerns about accountability. The Scottish Police Authority has utterly failed to hold Police Scotland to account in any way.

"This isn't an issue of party politics - it's about the policing of our country. I hope members from all the different political parties can support this motion."

Vic Emery, chairman of the SPA, has defended the chief constable and policing in Scotland.

He said: "Everyone in policing regrets the recent tragic M9 incident.

"The Chief Constable has led Scottish policing's acknowledgement of that failing, and has been clear in showing his personal commitment and duty to lead the service through this.

"The SPA continues to have confidence in him doing that, and will continue to provide both the support and necessary oversight required."

He added: "Many key areas of policing in Scotland are stronger today than they were under the previous multi-force system, and that has been done alongside successful efforts to reduce the costs of policing."

Responding to Labour's parliamentary motion, Chief Constable Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "There is no surprise in the news that police services have been cut; that is the reality created by shrinking budgets.

"If politicians really cared about policing in Scotland, we would be seeing motions calling for increases in funding and not the gesture politics of calling for resignations."

Sir Stephen has previously said the "massive changes" brought by the creation of the single Police Scotland force were not to blame for the delay in responding to the crash.

But in an interview with BBC Scotland, he acknowledged that the deaths of Mr Yuill and Ms Bell were "a tragic situation" where "we've got things badly wrong".

The amalgamation of Scotland's eight regional police forces into a single national force has led to the centralisation of some local control rooms and contact centres, with Glenrothes, Dumfries, Stirling and Pitt Street in Glasgow having already closed.

Sir Stephen confirmed earlier this year that he is likely to leave his post when his contract ends in September 2016.

He admitted that he had considered his position in the wake of recent events, but had decided that the "right thing to do" was to stay in his post.