Scottish Labour call on Sir Stephen House to resign

Scottish Labour has tabled a parliamentary motion calling for Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House to resign with “immediate effect”.

The motion follows the deaths of John Yuill and Lamara Bell in a crash on the M9 motorway near Stirling.

The pair were found by officers three days after an initial call was made to Police Scotland which reported their car was off the road. 

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An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 28-year-old Mr Yuill and 25-year-old Ms Bell is now being conducted by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland has also been ordered to carry out a separate review into the handling of calls by Police Scotland.

Scottish Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary Hugh Henry said: “The public are rapidly losing confidence in Police Scotland after a series of major mistakes.

“Revelations of recent days appear to confirm that the tragedy on the M9 wasn’t an isolated incident and was the result of a number of failures since the creation of Police Scotland.

“Sir Stephen House should resign with immediate effect. Only when the Chief Constable moves on can the Scottish Government fully investigate the failings in Police Scotland and get a grip on policing across our country.”

Serious concerns also exist about the accountability of the single force, added Henry, claiming that the Scottish Police Authority has “utterly failed to hold Police Scotland to account in any way”.

House, who is expected to leave the force when his contract expires next year, said last week that he would not be resigning in the wake of the M9 crash incident.

"I believe the right thing to do is to stay to get through this process, to get through this tragic event and the series of events that followed it and to see what can be done to fix the situation,” he told the BBC.

"I don't want anyone out there thinking I'm the type of person that says 'I'll never go, I'll have to be forced out'. If I come to the conclusion that I should resign then I will resign.

“I don't believe that's the case at this moment in time. This organisation needs leadership, I'm providing that leadership."

Asked by Holyrood about the parliamentary motion, a spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “Our position hasn’t changed.”