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Justice Secretary Michael Matheson commented, fFollowing yesterday's publication of findings by the Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office investigation into Police Scotland

“We note IOCCO’s clarification that no journalists were targeted by Police Scotland as part of their investigations.

“Any breach of the Code of Practice in this area is unacceptable and I expect Police Scotland to comply fully with any recommendations made by IOCCO. A free press is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and we are committed to protecting the privacy of all law-abiding members of the public, including journalists.

“It is important to recognise that, since these breaches were discovered in July 2015, Police Scotland has been working on a robust action plan to ensure there have been no repeat of these incidents, and that it cannot happen again. However, it is clear Police Scotland’s actions in accessing communications data have fallen short of the standards expected and I welcome today’s announcement by the Scottish Police Authority that they have asked HMICS to review the robustness of procedures around Police Scotland’s counter corruption practices.”

View IOCCO’s Press Release here:

http://iocco-uk.info/docs/Press%20statement%2025-11-2015.pdf