SEPA Chief Executive resigns following conduct allegations

On Friday, Bob Downes, Chairman of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency confirmed, Chief Executive Terry A’Hearn has stepped down and left his position.

The resignation comes following allegations into Mr A’Hearn’s conduct.

The agency said it would not comment on what those allegations are.

Mr Downes said: “Following conduct allegations, Terry A’Hearn has stepped down and left his position. SEPA has a clear Code of Conduct and takes conduct allegations very seriously indeed. In order to protect anonymity, SEPA is unable to comment further."

The Chairman confirmed that recruitment for a new Chief Executive would shortly commence.

In the interim period, Chief Officer Jo Green will be Acting Chief Executive, supported by SEPA’s Agency Management Team.

Mr A’Hearn became Sepa’s chief executive in April 2015, and before then he was the boss of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.