BAYOH PROBE IN CHAOS AS CHAIR QUITS OVER 'BIAS'

Lord Bracadale stands down throwing inquiry into fresh controversy

- By Ben Borland

THE SNP Government was plunged into crisis last night after the chairman of the £26million Sheku Bayoh inquiry stood down from his position in a row over alleged bias.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) had asked for Lord Bracadale to recuse himself due to concerns about private meetings with Mr Bayoh's family, a request he had initially refused. But in his resignation letter to Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, the veteran judge said concerns about his conduct “had not been allayed by my decision and the criticisms have persisted”.

He continued: “As a result, it is now clear to me that many of the core participants have lost confidence in my conduct of the inquiry to such an extent that it cannot be retrieved”.

The SPF — the body which represents rank and file police officers in Scotland — had raised a judicial review of his refusal to step down, and the first hearings had been due to take place in November.

Mr Bayoh, 31, a father of two, died after he was restrained by police at Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on May 3, 2015.