Rennie presses Government over fake police call handling system

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie has today pressed the Scottish Government over its response to reports that Police Scotland call handlers used a fake system for eight years.

Mr Rennie said:

"The Scottish Police Federation warned about the dumping of SC06 calls at the time so, the government should have known about this.

"Back in 2015 I also raised the alarm – repeatedly – about the failings of the newly centralised Police Scotland.

"These systematic failings led to the tragic deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill but we were not told call handlers used a fake system with a fictitious call sign.

"It was used to hide the chaos and anxious members of the public had their calls ignored. The call sign was DUMY.

"So can I ask, did ministers or government officials know about call sign DUMY?"

After Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance claimed that ministers and officials were not aware, Mr Rennie added:

"I'm afraid this is the culture established by this government: spin and manipulate to avoid the truth coming out.

"This also lays bare the abject failure of governance. This should have been spotted by the Scottish Police Authority.

"So, will the minister now commit to wholesale reform of the governance arrangements for the police service?"