Speaking after today's meeting of the Scottish Parliament's Policing Sub-committee, at which Durham Chief Constable Mike Barton said that he was "prevented" by Police Scotland from carrying out a proper investigation into the national force's illegal spying, Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP 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.

"Mr Barton was also highly critical of what he felt was a lack of support for existing and former officers who had been ‘badly wronged’, indicating that he felt this to be symptomatic of deep-rooted issues within Police Scotland that must be urgently addressed.

"Police Scotland have some extremely serious questions to answer when they appear before the committee next month."