phil gormley has not been at work since he was put on special leave six months ago over allegations ofme, further complaints have been made against him, seven in all. although i understand now that he has resigned, those investigations will be closed. he was cleared to return to work in november, but then that decision was reversed when thejustice secretary got involved, because he was worried that inadequate safeguards have been put in place to protect the serving police officers who had made these complaints against the chief co nsta ble. complaints against the chief constable. in a statement today, mr gormley referred to that decision when he said "events since november have led me to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to resume my duties in any meaningful way". police scotland is the second—largest force in the uk the metropolitan police, and it has had a troubled history. the last chief co nsta ble a troubled history. the last chief constable left early after a number of controversies about policing methods. the assistant chief co nsta ble methods. the assistant chief con

phil gormley, who had been in the job forjust over two years, had been under investigation since lastg 10 months before the end of his contract and will not receive a financial pay—off. our scotland editor, sarah smith, reports. phil gormley was brought in to steady the ship at police scotland just two years ago, but he's not been at work for the last six months while allegations of bullying were being investigated, while still receiving full pay. mr gormley was cleared to go back to work by the scottish police authority back in november, but that decision was then reversed when thejustice secretary intervened. he was worried there weren't adequate safeguards in place for the serving police officers who'd made accusations against the chief constable. mr gormley said in a statement... thank you presiding officer. raising questions today about whether police scotland is fit for purpose. we'll soon be on our third chief constable and we're on our third chair and third chief executive. surely the justice secretary has to start asking himself whether there's something else going on? perhap

phil gormley was brought in to steady the ship that police scotland just two years ago but he has notnovember, but that decision was then reversed when thejustice secretary intervened. he was worried there weren‘t adequate safeguards in place for the serving police officers who had made accusations against the chief constable. raising questions today about whether police scotland is fit for purpose. will soon be on our third chief constable, and we are on our third chairand chief constable, and we are on our third chair and chief executive or stop surely the justice secretary has to start asking himself whether there is something else going on, perhaps it is the structure that is the root of the problem here.|j believe a single police force is still the appropriate model in scotland, and the reality is had we not move to a single police force in scotland, we would have found ourselves having to make significant cuts to front—line policing. ourselves having to make significant cuts to front-line policing. police scotla nd cuts to front-line policing. police scotland has had a turbulent

phil gormley says it is impossible for him to resume his duties in any meaningful way.nderstand that he has resigned and now those investigations will be closed, they are no longer relevant. he was cleared to return to work back in november. that decision was reversed when thejustice secretary got involved because he was worried that inadequate safeguards have been put in place to protect the serving police officers who had made these complaints against the chief constable. in a statement today, mr gormley referred to that decision when he said events since november have led me to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to resume my duties in any meaningful way. police scotland is actually second—largest force in the whole of the uk after the metropolitan police. it has had a rather troubled history. the last chief constable left early after a number of controversies about policing methods. the assistant chief constable is currently suspended and another investigation is going on into his behaviour. this is a force that certainly has some turmoil in its leadership.

well, there are a total of seven complaints against phil gormley.ations into his behaviour although i understand that now he has stood down, those investigations will be closed and not brought to a conclusion. interestingly, he was actually cleared to return to work back in november by the scottish police authority who are the body that oversees police scotland but then the justice secretary oversees police scotland but then thejustice secretary intervened and asked them to overturn that decision because he thought inadequate safeguards had been put in place to protect the serving police officers who had made complaints against the chief constable, phil gormley. that decision was overturned and he remained on leave. today, he has decided to step down and he said in a statement that events since november have led me to the conclusion that it's impossible for me to resume my duties in a meaningful way. it leaves something of a crisis of leadership at the top of a crisis of leadership at the top of police scotland. the assistant chief const is also cur

phil gormley was brought in to steady the ship that police scotland just two years ago but he has notauthority back in november, but that decision was then reversed when thejustice secretary intervened. he was worried there weren‘t adequate safeguards in place for the serving police officers who had made accusations against the chief constable. mr gormley said in a statement... raising questions today about whether police scotland is fit for purpose. we will soon be on our third chief constable, and we are on our third chair and chief executive. surely the justice secretary has to start asking himself whether there is something else going on, perhaps it is the structure that is the root of the problem here. i believe a single police force is still the appropriate model in scotland, and the reality is had we not move to a single police force in scotland, we would have found ourselves having to make significant cuts to front—line policing. police scotland has had a turbulent times and eight forces were merged into one. the last chief constable stood down early after controversies of arm

phil gormley has been on special leave since september 2017 following allegations of gross misconduct. but mr gormley said he had come to the conclusion that it would be impossible to resume his duties in any meaningful way ahead of his contract expiring at the end of this year, regardless of the outcome of the investigations. mr gormley has always denied any wrongdoing. theresa may is meeting senior ministers at westminster this afternoon to try to agree the government's approach to the next stage of the brexit negotiations. it comes amid tensions between downing street and some conservative mps over the precise nature of britain's future relationship with the eu. and there's pressure on the prime minister too from business leaders — the british chambers of commerce are demanding more clarity about the government's brexit plans. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. the prime minister is fast approaching crunch time. her government must decide what brexit will really mean. it is notjust brussels, but mps and businesses too who want to know in which direction the country i