Scottish police force cuts ‘worse than expected’

By LYNSEY BEWS
Published on 01/10/2012 00:00

Cuts to Scottish police will be worse than expected, if reports are accurate, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has said.

Willie Rennie has called for the justice secretary to appear before Holyrood to explain the full extent of staff reductions as eight forces merge into one.

The single force’s newly appointed chief constable, Stephen House, said last week that the merger could mean that up to 3,000 civilian jobs are lost.

According to reports, figures from the Police Reform Board show that the force faces £300 million-worth of cuts over the next three and a half years, while 550 civilian staff would be lost immediately.

Mr Rennie said: “These cuts are even worse than we feared and was set out in the outline business case.”