Ex-Durham Police chief apologises for ‘error of judgment’ in using force car to travel home during Storm Babet
Scotland’s new chief constable and the former chief of Durham Police has apologised after using a police car to take her home to Northumberland[1] during Storm Babet. Jo Farrell took the job as Scotland’s top police officer in October and has had to apologise and accept she made an “error of judgment” when she used a police car to take her home to England last month. The train she had planned to travel on was cancelled on the evening of October 20, with the Sun newspaper reporting a Police Scotland car made the trip with an off-duty police officer at the wheel.
Ms Farrell confirmed she had requested her office “arrange for a car to drive me home to the Northumberland[2] area after work”. 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 ASPA 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.”
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References
- ^ Northumberland (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Northumberland (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
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