Chief constable sorry for 120-mile lift home in police car

Police Scotland's chief constable has apologised after an officer drove her home to England when her train was cancelled.

Jo Farrell was driven about 120 miles from Edinburgh to Northumberland during Storm Babet on 20 October.

She had started in the role of Scotland's top police officer just 11 days earlier having previously been chief constable of Durham Constabulary.

Ms Farrell said she was sorry for her "error of judgement".

In a statement, the chief constable said: "I requested my office to arrange for a car to drive me home to the Northumberland area after work.

"I was unable to complete the journey by train as services had been cancelled and my own police vehicle was unavailable.

"I have apologised for this error of judgement."

A civilian worker from Durham Constabulary was also a passenger in the police car. Police Scotland have confirmed this person was dropped off a further 15 miles south, in Gateshead.

A Durham Constabulary spokesman said: "Senior officers and staff from Durham Constabulary routinely visit other forces to help with advice and share best practice with colleagues across policing, both on a formal and informal basis.

"In this instance, an experienced member of staff attended Police Scotland to advise the chief constable about finances and resources."

The police driver, a road policing officer, was then said to have returned to Edinburgh - a round trip that would have taken about six hours.

Much of Scotland was under severe weather warnings at the time as the country was battered by heavy rain and strong winds during Storm Babet.

Train services, including LNER and Transpennine Express services which travel south of the border from Edinburgh Waverley, were cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions.

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay said: "The new chief constable is tasked with making extremely difficult financial decisions due to SNP budget cuts, which makes her misuse of police resources even more jarring.

"There are many unknown details and unanswered questions, including what, if any, consideration was given to the safety of the officer who was ordered to complete this 250-mile round trip in dangerous weather conditions."

A spokesman for the Scottish Police Authority said: "The authority is aware the chief constable used a police vehicle following the cancellation of a scheduled train journey.

"The chair has discussed this with the chief constable who has apologised. The authority considers the matter closed."

This is an embarrassing revelation for a chief constable who's kept a low profile since she took charge of the UK's second biggest police force.

Once upon a time, Jo Farrell could have expected a lift home under such circumstances without anyone making much of a fuss.

But it's 2023, it was a Friday during a storm, and Police Scotland has been complaining about being under-funded and overstretched.

Next week Jo Farrell will use her first public speech to argue for increased funding to ease the force's financial woes.

Not a great time to have to apologise over an error of judgement involving police resources.