Whistleblower alleges careers were 'destroyed' and promotions 'rigged' at Scottish Fire Service

Senior officers and members of staff faced a “toxic” culture with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service that led to careers being “destroyed”, a whistleblower has alleged.

Raised in a letter sent to the community safety minister Elena Whitham, from Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay, the allegations centre on the behaviour of former chief fire officer Martin Blunden.

Mr Blunden, who was suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into his conduct, quit his post in autumn last year. It has been reported he has since taken up a new role in Saudi Arabia.

The investigation into his conduct never reported its conclusions and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has said it is unable to comment due to confidentiality.

However, the whistleblower has alleged three senior officers were forced out of their jobs in the service, alongside two non-uniform senior members of staff, due to Mr Blunden’s conduct and the “toxic” culture within the fire service.

The individual whistleblower is also described as having been close to committing suicide due to the culture under the former chief officer.

They also raise concerns that no lessons have been learned following the investigation due to the lack of findings, with no-one held accountable and the possibility the same “toxic” culture remains in place at the fire service.

The letter reads: “It is claimed that former chief fire officer Martin Blunden was responsible for bullying colleagues and of abusing his power by subverting the fairness of the promotion process, essentially ‘rigging’ it in favour of those loyal to him and to the detriment to those deemed to be disloyal or otherwise problematic.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) headquarters in Cambuslang, Glasgow.

According to the whistleblower, Mr Blunden “basked in having the power to leave people dangling and then suddenly taking their livelihoods away”..

Mr Findlay, who raised the matter in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, adds in the letter: “In my brief time as an MSP, it has become apparent that the Scottish Government and its agencies are often hostile to transparency and averse to the principle of accountability. However, I hope you agree with the whistleblower that burying your head in the sand would be counter-productive and full transparency is vital.

"We cannot allow the good reputation of our fire service to be tarnished, and the wellbeing of those who serve in it, because of claims of bullying and cronyism, aggravated by allegations of cover-up.”

The Tory MSP also calls for details of the allegations to be published, confirmation of the status and findings of any investigation into them, and details of actions taken and whether any lessons have been learned.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it would respond to the issues raised in the letter “in due course”.

They added: “Bullying and harassment is unacceptable in any circumstances and any allegation against the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) staff members should be taken extremely seriously.

“Staffing and disciplinary procedures are rightly a matter for the SFRS board and we expect all employees to act in line with the values and behaviours expected of everyone in SFRS.”

The SFRS said it was unable to comment on the allegations raised against Mr Blunden. The service said it had robust procedures in place and provided welfare support to those involved in the complaints process.

Mr Blunden was also contacted for comment.

Want to hear more from The Scotsman's politics team? Check out the latest episode of our political podcast, The Steamie.

It's available wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.