Cop who shared 120 mile lift with Police Scotland chief was ‘brought in to slash staff’

A TOP cop who shared a 120-mile police lift home to England with Scotland’s new force chief was an “axe man”, it is claimed.

Ex-Durham Constabulary Assistant Chief Officer Gary Ridley earmarked hundreds of Police Scotland jobs for cuts after Chief Constable Jo Farrell asked him to do an “efficiency review”.

4

4

Papers show he grilled senior staff on the day Ms Farrell ordered an on-duty officer to drive them home to England in a storm last October.

His presentation, obtained by The Scottish Sun on Sunday, shows he suggested 189 redundancies from April this year and 250 in August.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: “The new chief constable’s former colleague appears to have been appointed as a freelance axe man, tasked with finding ways to cut costs and jobs when budgets are already stretched.

“I suspect that under-pressure Police Scotland officers will shudder at the contents of this Durham Constabulary-branded report which talks of hundreds of job losses.

“It’s reasonable for the head of any organisation to conduct a financial audit but bringing in an outsider suggests a lack of confidence in Police Scotland’s senior leadership team.

“His involvement was only discovered because the chief constable misused a police vehicle and has resulted in a grievance being lodged against her by the deputy chief officer.”

4

Ms Farrell issued a public apology after it emerged the pair had been chauffeured home just days after she took up the role.

She said Mr Ridley had been giving advice but remained vague when quizzed at the Criminal Justice Committee.

Ridley’s PowerPoint presentation slides detail how Police Scotland could be made more “efficient”.

Objectives included a review of efficiency planning, savings, revenue, budgets and income generation.

According to documents, the “Police Scotland Efficiency Review” was meant to be “light touch” and not include “productivity” or certain legal services.

But Mr Ridley was given access to senior police staff and officers for interviews as well as data and information.

Areas for “income generation” identified included the Police Scotland brand, firearms licensing, proceeds of crime and speeding enforcement.

And potential “areas for efficiency” included closures and “mothballing” of estates and “savings” through voluntary redundancy.

In person interviews with senior staff were conducted on October 19 and 20 last year.

Those grilled include Deputy Chief Officer David Page, a senior civilian, who later filed a grievance against the Chief Constable.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “These are operational matters for Police Scotland and the Chief Constable.”

Watchdog the Scottish Police Authority said: “The purpose of the Durham official’s visit was a matter of public record.”

In December last year, Ms Farrell said Mr Ridley’s “advice related to the business or corporate side of Police Scotland at a time when there were some challenges in bringing this year’s budget in at the allocation”.

Police Scotland said it had “nothing further to add.”