Tory MSP hits out over 'shambolic failure' of police IT project

Nicola Sturgeon has been challenged over the "shambolic failure" of a multimillion-pound police IT project scrapped by the national force.

Conservative MSP Douglas Ross suggested to the First Minister that the cancellation of the i6 programme undermined the work of police officers and staff around the country.

But Ms Sturgeon disputed his assertions and said the Scottish Government is protecting police budgets in every year of the current parliament.

The exchanges came at Holyrood during the First Minister's Questions session.

The abandonment of the i6 project - mutually agreed by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), Police Scotland and technology firm Accenture - was revealed in July after it emerged it could not be delivered within the expected time-frames and budget.

Mr Ross, a member of the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee, told the First Minister on Thursday: "The cancellation of the i6 project, which was estimated to cost £60 million, was announced hours after parliament rose for the summer recess, despite the fact that the Scottish Government was made aware of the termination two weeks before that.

"Does the First Minister agree that the shambolic failure of that project undermines the great efforts of police officers and staff across the country, dealing with ever greater demands, including the challenges of dealing with a growing elderly population?"

But the SNP leader told him: "No I don't. Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) take decisions that they consider to be appropriate and let's not forget that our police do an absolutely fantastic job, a very difficult job. As we saw from the crime statistics earlier this week, recorded crime is now at a 42-year low in Scotland."

Mr Ross referred to the project after seeking the First Minister's views on reported comments by Chief Constable Phil Gormley that it will "take a two to three-year adjustment period" to balance Police Scotland's finances.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that ministers are protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of this parliament, amounting to a boost of over £100 million by 2021.

And she said it "beggars belief" that Conservative MSPs would raise issues of public spending when the Tory Government at Westminster "has reduced our budget in real terms since 2010 by 5%".

She added: "If Tory MSPs want to make the case for well-funded public services, can I suggest that they start making that case with their colleagues in Westminster."

• Scottish News