The man most widely tipped to be Scotland’s next chief constable has retired from policing.
In a move which sent shocks through the ranks, the national force’s No 2, Iain Livingstone has quit after a quarter of a century in uniform.
The Designated Deputy Chief Constable had helped shape Police Scotland in a succession of its most senior roles and was widely seen inside the force as a champion of Scottish policing values.
His departure comes widespread talk that he would be in pole position to replace current chief Constable Phil Gormley, who pipped him to the top job last year.
Phil Gormley, whose own contract runs out at the end of next year but is open to extension, heaped praise on his deputy.
He said: “I would like to pay tribute to Iain for his long career of outstanding public service; his many achievements in policing and the wider criminal justice sector.
“Iain has served the communities of Scotland for over 25 years and has been a central figure in police reform and the creation of the national service.
“As Chief Constable, I have been extremely grateful for his support, advice and leadership over the past year and a half, and I wish him every success in his future plans.”
Mr Livingstone, who is 50, a former Fulbright scholar and a trainer lawyer, has become a mainstay of Scottish justice beyond policing in recent years, serving as a member of Lord Bonomy’s review group on corroboration.
He is not understood to have a new position to go to but leaves Scottish policing with a headache for succession planning, say insiders.
Mr Livingston’s job - as second-in-command at Britain’s second biggest force - is one of the biggest in UK policing.
His salary - last listed in February as between £170,000 and £175,000 - is higher than that of the chief constables of some of England’s biggest forces. He is expected to leave in the autumn.
He will be replaced by the Scottish Police Authority, the force’s civilian oversight body, which is currently without a permament chairman after Andrew Flannigan said he would stand down earlier this summer.
SPA chief executive John Foley said Mr Livingstone had made an “an exceptional contribution”. He added: “We will consider over the coming weeks the necessary leadership and succession arrangements, in consultation with the Chief Constable.”
Mr Livingstone had been popular among the rank and file. Calum Steele, chief executive of the Scottish Police Federation described him as “a remarkable public servant”.
He added: “He is one of the most talented and highly respected police officers of his generation. His retirement represents a tremendous loss for the police service as a whole and for the communities in Scotland in particular.”
In a statement Mr Livingstone said: “It is now the right time for me to retire from policing and take up new challenges. It has been a privilege to serve the people of Scotland as a police officer.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel