Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Designate Iain Livingstone today announced that he has reconsidered his plans to retire.

DCC Livingstone, the most senior of the service’s three Deputy Chief Constables, had planned to retire in the autumn, however, given developments which led to Chief Constable Phil Gormley being granted a period of special leave by the Scottish Police Authority, DCC Livingstone has written to the chair of the SPA and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to confirm that he will remain in post.

He said: “Having discussed the matter at length with my wife, family and others, I intend to continue in post for the foreseeable future.

“Given the uncertainty and challenges currently facing Police Scotland, I consider it my duty to remain in service.

“My focus now will be on ensuring that we continue to deliver day-to-day policing services to the people of Scotland and on providing the leadership and assurance that is needed at this time.

“We have a strong and resilient command team in place and we have thousands of dedicated and hard-working police officers and staff who remain committed to providing an excellent service to the people of Scotland.”

John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.