Detective accuses Police Scotland deputy chief constable of "misconduct" amid 'spying' row

A murder detective has accused Scotland’s second most senior officer of “misconduct” following evidence he gave to a Holyrood committee on the ‘spying’ row engulfing Police Scotland.

Detective inspector David Moran has confirmed to MSPs he is one of four individuals the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office (IOCCO) deemed to be “adversely affected” after Police Scotland breached rules on the use of spying powers in order to identify journalists’ sources.

In a letter to the justice committee, which is hosted on the Scottish Parliament's website, Moran - who works within Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team, otherwise dubbed the ‘Murder Squad’ - claims deputy chief constable Neil Richardson delivered “outrageous and completely false” evidence when appearing before MSPs in relation to the row last December.

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It comes as prosecutors consider whether to launch a criminal investigation following a separate allegation made by Moran that the actions of Police Scotland in targeting his communications were “wilful and therefore a criminal action”.

The Crown Office last night confirmed that the matter is “under consideration” after receiving a complaint from the detective inspector via his solicitor.   

IOCCO confirmed in November that Police Scotland breached the watchdog’s code of practice on five occasions after failing to get judicial approval while seeking communications data. Four individuals were “adversely affected”, Interception of Communications Commissioner Sir Stanley Burnton said, labelling the breaches “reckless”.

The detective inspector, a serving police officer of over 30 years, said he has been “falsely exposed very publicly during a justice committee meeting as a journalistic source which I categorically am not” after Richardson told MSPs authorisations for communications data had been sought in connection with information relating to the unsolved murder of Emma Caldwell in 2005 that had been leaked to a retired officer.

In a four-page letter to MSPs, Moran said: “Deputy Chief Constable Neil Richardson made statements which are extremely injurious to my reputation and I believe him to be guilty of misconduct in misrepresenting to you what happened in respect of the police investigation into me.

“He clearly made a statement asserting my guilt in the matter under investigation and made it appear to the committee that Police Scotland had erred only in failing to obtain judicial approval.

“In this statement to the committee he attempted to partially justify Police Scotland’s actions by stating that I had leaked information to [retired officer] Gerard Gallacher. This was outrageous and completely false. He could have had no evidence of this as it simply wasn’t the case.

“At best he was completely misinformed or at worst it was made up. Either way he has severely scarred my reputation publicly.”

Richardson, who did not name the detective inspector when giving evidence before MSPs, told the committee “there was a breach during a murder inquiry from a police officer to a retired police officer, and the focus was on the serving officer in the murder squad”.

Moran claims identities of the four deemed by IOCCO to have been affected by the breaches is “well known within the police” and “of the four I am the only one who could fit the description as being in the ‘Murder Squad’”.

Richardson’s statement “does not refer to suspicion that I was involved, it is categoric that the breach came from a serving officer within the murder squad,” said Moran’s letter. “That has in effect identified me as the source of the Sunday Mail story,” he added.

The detective inspector told MSPs he “self-declared” his friendship with retired officer Gallacher, who was quoted in the Sunday Mail, to his commanding officer after the story appeared and made clear that he had “no knowledge” of the original Caldwell investigation.

“There was no reason to investigate me and indeed it was based on an unsubstantiated and invented intelligence case,” Moran told the committee. The serving officer added that he is “outraged that I should have been investigated in this manner without cause and, to add insult to injury, illegally”.

Meanwhile, Moran confirmed he has made a complaint to police and the procurator fiscal after being “able to piece together what I believe to be a fairly accurate, if not complete, picture of the illegal course of conduct against me”.

In his letter to MSPs, he said: “I do not believe the actions carried out by Police Scotland to have been reckless as determined by IOCCO and I do not believe they had full possession of the facts when reaching that conclusion.

“Consequently I have made a complaint to the police and the procurator fiscal through my solicitor that I believe I am a victim of a crime and that the course of conduct followed was wilful and therefore a criminal action.”

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We are aware of the correspondence and are reviewing its content including the allegations. Due to the potential of proceedings in relation to an Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the fact that a complaint has been made to the police in relation to this matter, we cannot comment at this time.”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “I can confirm that we have received correspondence from detective inspector Moran’s solicitor and the matter is under consideration.”