POLICE Scotland has been accused of preventing an outside force from investigating an illegal spying operation linked to the unsolved murder of prostitute Emma Caldwell.

In “damning” evidence to a Holyrood committee yesterday, Durham Constabulary chief constable Michael Barton said the force had limited his probe and reduced him to the status of “interim investigator”.

He blasted Police Scotland for “secrecy” and “ineptitude” and told MSPs: “The lawyers in Police Scotland are not transparent and they’re overly defensive. And they are risk averse. And they got in my way.”

Barton also said the intelligence on which the unlawful spy probe was based was "false" and said: "It was made up."

CATCH UP: HOW THE SUNDAY HERALD BROKE THE ORIGINAL SPYING STORY

Three years ago, a newspaper revealed the failings of the original Strathclyde Police investigation into the killing of Caldwell, whose body was found in woodland near Biggar in 2005.

After the media expose, Police Scotland’s Counter Corruption Unit used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Scotland Act (RIPA) to find out whether serving and retired officers had played a role in the leak. of information.

Not only were the individuals blameless, but the force’s actions were unlawful as judicial approval should have been sought. Durham Constabulary was tasked with carrying out an independent probe into the controversy.

Speaking to Holyrood’s justice sub-committee on policing, Barton said he wanted to carry out an investigation but claimed Police Scotland limited it to a lower level ‘enquiry’. As a result, Durham was unable to interview the officers in the CCU who played a role in the RIPA operation.

Barton said: “It was very clear to me we were being asked to do an investigation.

“We were then told ‘this isn’t an investigation, this is an enquiry’. That’s when I became a little bit confused and a little bit concerned.”

He added that the victims of the RIPA probe had been “gravely wronged”, but said he was “prevented” from carrying out an investigation. He singled out the force’s legal team and Professional Standards Department for criticism.

“I think there was a lack of openness in certain parts of the investigation, and remains so. Certainly in the legal department.”

Barton added: “There isn’t any conspiracy in Police Scotland. This is ineptitude.”

He also used his committee appearance to question statements made on the row by the force.

Barton quoted a senior Police Scotland officer who said his force’s report had been written in “Durham-style”, but he implied this was a patronising comment:

“There’s an implication there that ‘bless me, I have created a ‘Durham style’ that is not quite up to snuff in Scotland. I absolutely disagree with that judgement.”

He said of Police Scotland’s general approach: “People have dug themselves into the trenches.”

Barton offered an example of the force’s apparent awkwardness: “Another impasse [was that] we wanted to speak to senior officers who retired….But lawyers in Police Scotland said we weren’t allowed to know where they lived, because it was data protection.” It is understood Durham eventually got the information.

In the end, Durham submitted reports to Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, after which the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) carried out the misconduct side of the probe.

According to Police Scotland, the PSNI investigation found that there was no misconduct by any of the officers.

John Finnie MSP, the committee convener, said: "We have heard damning evidence about Police Scotland's interaction with Durham Constabulary as they carried out vital investigations into the CCU. We will be asking Police Scotland to respond at the Committee."

Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: “The dysfunctional culture at the top of Police Scotland has been utterly exposed today. It has become clear that through sheer ineptitude and incompetence, Chief Constable Michael Barton was prevented from conducting a full inquiry into how the CCU handled the Emma Caldwell spying case."

Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur said:

"At today's committee, Mr Barton did not mince his words. He accused Police Scotland of ineptitude and warned of a culture of secrecy and risk aversion. Police Scotland have some extremely serious questions to answer when they appear before the committee next month."

Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said: "It is our position, supported by external and independent legal opinion from a QC, that our regulations would not have permitted Chief Constable Barton from carrying out both the complaint enquiry and the misconduct investigation. "We have previously said that there has been significant organisational learning from these enquiries and a report on this has been provided to the Scottish Parliament's justice sub-committee."