A former judge who is chairing a £50m public inquiry into the death of a man in police custody will hear arguments on Thursday on whether he should step down or see the job through.
The Scottish Police Federation has accused Lord Bracadale of holding “secret” meetings with the family of Sheku Bayoh, who died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy in 2015.
The organisation which represents rank and file officers believes the five meetings could lead to “perceived bias” and has called for him to “recuse” himself.
Lord Bracadale has been leading the inquiry since 2020 and ordered the hearing to allow core participants to make submissions on his conduct.
If Lord Bracadale decides to stay in post, the federation has said it will seek a judicial review.
His departure and the search for a last minute replacement after five years of work would delay the inquiry’s findings by many months.
It has already cost the public purse £24.8m, with an additional £24.3m spent by Police Scotland, including £17.3m of legal costs.
The stage is now set for a robust exchange of legal arguments between senior lawyers.
Roddy Dunlop KC, dean of the Faculty of Advocates, will represent the police federation and two of the officers involved in the incident which ended with Mr Bayoh’s death.
The police federation has said that none of the other core participants were made aware that Lord Bracadale was meeting the family and the details of what was said have not been disclosed.
The federation’s general secretary David Kennedy has said it has lost confidence in the inquiry because not all core participants were being treated equally.
The Bayoh family’s solicitor Aamer Anwar has described the federation’s actions as “a pathetic and desperate attempt to sabotage the inquiry” at the 11th hour.
He claimed the hearing could cost taxpayers “in excess of a million pounds” in fees for “police lawyers.”
One of England’s top barristers, Jason Beer KC, has been brought in as senior counsel for the inquiry itself.
He is expected to argue that Lord Bracadale’s actions were procedurally appropriate because of the importance of maintaining the family’s confidence.
Scotland’s prosecution service, the Crown Office, will state its position, along with Police Scotland, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and the Commission for Racial Equality and Rights.
Lawyers representing other police officers involved in the case will also have the opportunity to have their say.
The hearing is scheduled to last two days, with Lord Bracadale issuing his decision at a later date.
The inquiry has been examining what happened before and during the death of Sheku Bayou, who died in police custody. It has been looking at how the police dealt with the aftermath, the investigation into Mr Bayoh’s death and whether race was a factor.
Members of the public called the police after Mr Bayoh was spotted carrying a knife and behaving erratically in the streets of Kirkcaldy on May 3, 2015.
He wasn’t carrying the knife when officers arrived at the scene but a violent confrontation followed, with up to six officers restraining the 31-year-old on the ground.
The father-of-two lost consciousness and later died in hospital.
