Latest news with #ShekuBayohInquiry
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Public inquiries placing pressure on Police Scotland
David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), said public inquiries were having a 'detrimental impact' on policing. He said the issue could lead to a cycle in which taking officers away from their duties to deal with inquiries could ultimately result in more inquiries in the future, as the force suffers from a lack of resources. Mr Kennedy called for a ring-fenced fund for public organisations involved in inquiries to ensure services are not harmed. READ MORE: Local bus operator axes all of its services after entering 'liquidation' READ MORE: Glasgow travellers heading to two cities warned of 'violent muggings' He told the Finance and Public Administration Committee: 'The amount of and the sheer task that public inquiries place on the police service, resource-wise, is quite extraordinary. 'And what I've certainly seen since taking up my post and being in the federation for nearly 20 years is that there's never any budget set aside for the police service to take up these inquiries.' Mr Kennedy said the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry – one of several costing tens of millions of pounds – has cost Police Scotland £25 million, although it directly involves the force. 'On that figure alone, on a light scale, would give you 500 police officers,' he said. 'And with the current resourcing levels within Police Scotland, it is having an absolute detrimental effect on policing.' Mr Kennedy said that came at the same time as one detective inspector was dealing with 176 rape inquiries. 'That shows you the knock-on effect that inquiries can have on the day-to-day running of policing,' he said. Mr Kennedy added that the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry had also used 60 detectives at one point, which he said would take away from Police Scotland's resources elsewhere. He said the number of inquiries, which has increased in recent years, had led to some officers taking sick leave from work. Mr Kennedy told MSPs: 'The knock-on effect is when you have so many officers going on to a day shift role doing inquiries, that leaves the operational roles short.' He warned that the issue could lead to more future inquiries, saying: 'My concern at the moment is that we're going to have more public inquiries in 10 years' time because of items and cases that have been missed now, while we are taking people off the operational side of policing to help with the public inquiries that are ongoing.' SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson, convener of the committee, said the situation could become a 'self-perpetuating, increased cycle'. Mr Kennedy said the system must be reformed, including Police Scotland receiving the full cost of engaging with inquiries. His appearance comes as the committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries in Scotland. The total cost of the country's public inquiries since 2007 currently totals £240 million, including £95.3 million for the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. Meanwhile, the NHS has spent more than £3 million responding to inquiries since 2021, with the service now having established a dedicated team to respond to inquiries. Police Scotland and the Scottish Government have been approached for comment.
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Troubled Sheku Bayoh public inquiry drafts in UK's top expert amid fears it could collapse
The public inquiry guru has previously represented clients in the Shipman Inquiry, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry NEW APPOINTMENT Troubled Sheku Bayoh public inquiry drafts in UK's top expert amid fears it could collapse Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR probe into the death of a man in police custody has drafted in the UK's leading public inquiry expert amid fears it could collapse. Jason Beer KC was confirmed as new senior counsel of the troubled Sheku Bayoh Inquiry on Tuesday. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 3 Jason Beer KC was confirmed as new senior counsel of the public inquiry Credit: PA 3 Sheku Bayoh's family along with lawyer Aamer Anwar Credit: Alan MacGregor Ewing His appointment could send costs of the £24million inquiry spiralling further despite Police Scotland agreeing to a secret settlement with Mr Bayoh's family. It is understood Mr Beer will lead the work around the hearings which will examine whether Lord Bracadale's conduct during the inquiry has been fair. These will take place on June 12 and 13, the Inquiry website states. A source close to the inquiry said: 'It seems Lord Bracadale and the Scottish Government now realise there is a major problem regarding the allegations of a lack of fairness, and that Mr Beer's appointment is a last-ditch attempt to keep the ship on course. 'There is also the question of Mr Beer's fees, which will only add to the current cost to taxpayers of nearly £24million.' The London lawyer is already working for counter-terrorism police as part of the inquiry into the Southport terror attack and as the main lawyer for NHS England in the inquiry into how Lucy Letby was allowed to murder seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The public inquiry guru has previously represented clients in the Shipman Inquiry into the murders by serial killer doc Harold Shipman, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, and was the lead lawyer for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry into wrongly prosecuted subpostmasters. The Sheku Bayoh Inquiry was launched after Mr Bayoh died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015 after being restrained by six officers. Chair of the inquiry Lord Bracadale is considering whether to step down after the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, raised concerns over his impartiality. SPF general secretary David Kennedy said in April: 'We have lost confidence in the inquiry and consider it necessary to petition for judicial review.' He is set to seek opinions at a hearing in June and if the judge quits, a significant delay in issuing the inquiry's findings is expected. Bayoh family lawyer Aamer Anwar branded the move by the SPF 'beneath contempt'. Cops insisted the out-of court settlement struck with Mr Bayoh's relatives represented 'best value' - but refused to say how much had been paid out. A spokeswoman for the Inquiry said: 'The Inquiry is delighted to welcome Jason Beer KC to the team. Mr Beer has a wealth of valuable experience across public inquiries and we look forward to working with him in the weeks to come.' Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: 'Huge amounts of taxpayers' money have already been spent on this inquiry and this latest appointment will clearly add further expense. 'Given the extreme pressures on public finances the SNP need to come clean about what is truly happening with the Sheku Bayoh inquiry and guarantee answers will be delivered for all involved.' The Scottish Government have been contacted for comment.
The Herald Scotland
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Cost of public inquiries in Scotland since 2007 rises to £230m
Some £666,949 of this was spent on staff, while £316,035 was spent on external legal costs. Patients of the disgraced neurosurgeon, who worked for NHS Tayside between 1995 and 2014, have claimed he harmed as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which was announced in 2014 to investigate the abuse of children in care, remains the most expensive in the country, with a current cost of £95.3 million. READ MORE: The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is examining the Government's response to the pandemic, was announced in 2021 and has already cost £34 million. Meanwhile, the cost of the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry, which was announced in 2019, stood at £23.6 million as of December 2024. That inquiry is probing the death of Mr Bayoh, who died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015. The costs of the ongoing Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is examining issues with the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, have risen to £23.6 million. That inquiry was announced in 2019. The completed Edinburgh Trams Inquiry cost £13.1 million. The news comes as Holyrood's Finance Committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries. MSPs could probe the role of legal firms and whether they have a vested interest in inquiries running on for years past their original finish date, and whether they have a conflict of interest in seeking to broaden the remit of inquiries, increasing costs further. Professor Sandy Cameron, the former chair of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, will appear before the Finance Committee on Tuesday. In a written submission to the committee, Professor Cameron said that part of the reason for the rising costs of inquiries was the difficulty in managing legal fees and holding solicitors to budget. He said: 'It has to be recognised that inquiries are a source of substantial income for some large legal firms and, as such, the question arises as to the extent to which they are motivated to keep costs to a minimum and within budget.' Costs can also increase if more victims come forward when the timetable of an inquiry is expanded. Professor Cameron warned the length of some inquiries risks the loss of public interest while adding pressure to victims seeking answers. She said there is also the risk of 'passion fatigue' for participants if they run on. He added: 'Essentially, we need to ask the questions what are inquiries trying to achieve and could they be done differently? 'If we were starting from scratch could we devise a process which was more effective and less costly?'
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
£49m: That's the shocking cost of Sheku Bayoh death probe...so far
Prosecutors have spent more than £1million on the ongoing probe into the death of Sheku Bayoh, pushing the total cost so far to £49million. The Crown Office disclosed the scale of its expenditure as the Scottish parliament prepares to investigate the amount spent on statutory inquiries. The inquiry itself has cost £23.8million including the fees for legal representation for Mr Bayoh's relatives. Mr Bayoh, 31, died in Kirkcaldy in 2015 after being restrained by police. Former Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf later ordered the public inquiry. The Edinburgh-based probe, which is looking into the circumstances of Mr Bayoh's death and whether or not race played any role, started in November 2020. From November 2019 to April 2025, the Crown Office said it had recorded £1,015,005 in costs related to the inquiry. Latest figures show that by the end of December last year the overall cost of Lord Bracadale's inquiry itself, covering factors such as its set-up and staffing, had hit £23,765,467. This was up from £22,095,804 at the end of September. This figure does not include Crown Office or Police Scotland spending. It emerged this month that dealing with the inquiry has cost Police Scotland almost £25million, giving a combined total of around £49million. By comparison, the nine-year-long inquiry into the Edinburgh trams fiasco cost £13.1million – roughly the same as Sir John Chilcot's Iraq War probe, which took seven years to complete. Mr Bayoh died after residents reported seeing a man acting erratically and apparently carrying a knife. After being restrained by officers, he lost consciousness and was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead. In 2018, the Lord Advocate ruled that no criminal charges should be brought against the officers involved in the case. A response from Police Scotland under freedom of information laws revealed that as of January 31 this year, Operation TARN – the name of the investigation – had cost the force £24,277,408. More than £17million has been spent on legal services, with the rest spent on officer and staff costs. Last month, the family of Mr Bayoh settled a civil action against the Chief Constable, first raised in May 2018, in which they were seeking £1.85million in damages over his death. Justice Secretary Angela Constance announced this week that Lord Scott, KC, would head a public inquiry into Police Scotland's investigation of the murder of Emma Caldwell in 2005. Commenting on the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry, Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said Police Scotland 'has participated fully in every aspect... and our commitment to positively assist the chair [Lord Bracadale] in discharging the terms of reference remains unchanged'. It emerged last month that the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries in Scotland is to be investigated by Holyrood's finance committee. MSPs will examine what spending controls are in place to ensure the taxpayer is getting value for money. A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: 'We welcome every opportunity to reflect upon our work and identify any possible areas for improvement.' A spokesman for the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry said: 'The Inquiries Act 2005 obliges the chair to avoid any unnecessary costs. 'We continue to do everything possible to ensure the inquiry, which has heard 122 days of evidence, delivers best value while fulfilling its terms of reference.' The Scottish Government has said that 'managing expenditure is the responsibility of the chair of the relevant inquiry'.
