Willie Rennie has called for an independent review after councillors felt frozen out from scrutinising the police’s handling of a Fife murder.
Elizabeth Bowe, 50, was killed in St Andrews by her brother Charles Gordon in September 2016 soon after calling police for help.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner said her death could have been prevented if officers had attended earlier.
Mr Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, said his councillors asked for senior police officers to attend a committee to answer questions about the incident, the PIRC report and strategies for dealing with vulnerable people.
“The community of North East Fife will understandably be concerned that following such a serious case and the findings of the PIRC investigation, there is not an opportunity for local representatives to ask questions about this,” he told First Minister’s Questions.
The North East MSP said it demonstrates the need for forensic look at how the police service operates.
He said: “It is time the First Minister recognised that the need for an independent review of the structure of the police.”
Police say that there will be an opportunity for scrutiny, but there are currently legal proceedings which prohibits discussing the matter publicly.
In an email to councillors, Chief Insp Kevin Woods said that said representatives could not attend the meeting because of “ongoing matters not within our control”.
“Discussions around how best to facilitate the provision of information to the elected representatives is ongoing at a senior level within Police Scotland and I will ensure this is communicated to you when any decisions have been made,” he told them.
Chief Supt Colin Gall, divisional commander for Fife, said: “Members of the local area committee in North East Fife had requested the attendance of a police representative to attend a forthcoming Committee meeting to discuss the findings of the PIRC report.
“However, as a result of ongoing legal proceedings in relation to this matter and it would be inappropriate to discuss the investigation further at this time in a public forum.
“We are committed to regular engagement with our communities and elected representatives and when the legal matters surrounding this case are resolved, officers will look to provide the local area committee with an update as requested.”
