Chief Constable took police car home to England during Storm Babet

Jo Farrell was driven home by an off-duty officer during the travel chaos

The Scottish Tories are calling for a "full explanation"
Author: Molly TulettPublished 24th Nov 2023

Scotland’s new chief constable as apologised after making an “error of judgement” when she used a police car to take her home to England during Storm Babet last month.

Jo Farrell took the top policing position in October, moving from her position of chief constable of Durham Constabulary in the north of England.

Ms Farrell had been planning to take the train back down south, but after the extreme weather cancelled services, she made the trip in a police car with an off-duty officer.

The incident happened on the evening of October 20, after Ms Farrell had requested her office “arrange for a car to drive me home to the Northumberland area after work”.

"Error of judgement"

In a statement issued by Police Scotland, she added: "I was unable to complete the journey by train as services had been cancelled and my own police vehicle was unavailable.

"I have apologised for this error of judgment."

Watchdogs at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) confirmed chairman Martyn Evans has raised the matter with Ms Farrell.

An SPA spokesperson said: "The authority is aware the chief constable used a police vehicle following the cancellation of a scheduled train journey.

"The chair has discussed this with the chief constable who has apologised. The authority considers the matter closed."

The matter is considered "closed"

However, Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Russell Findlay believes frontline officers deserved an explanation from the Chief Constable.

He said: "The new Chief Constable is tasked with making extremely difficult financial decisions due to SNP budget cuts, which makes her misuse of police resources even more jarring.

"SNP ministers created Police Scotland and its Scottish Police Authority oversight body, and they appear content with their 'nothing to see here' response to this incident.

"The SPA says this matter is closed but that's not good enough. Frontline officers who are bearing the brunt of these cuts, along with the paying public, deserve a full explanation.

"There are many unknown details and unanswered questions, including what, if any, consideration was given to the safety of the officer who was ordered to complete this 250-mile round trip in dangerous weather conditions."

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