INSPECTORS have delivered a damning report on the “dysfunctional” leadership of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) Bosses at the beleaguered body, who controls Police Scotland’s billion pound budget, have been under pressure for months over claims of bullying, secretive meetings, decisions taken in private and papers being kept from board members.

SNP MSP Alex Neil accused SPA bosses Andrew Flanagan and John Foley of acting like they were running the Kremlin.

The near-constant criticism of the body, in particular over how the resignation of board member Moi Ali was handled, saw justice minister Michael Matheson ask Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) to bring forward a planned routine inspection.

The interim report of that inspection, leaked to the Herald yesterday, concluded there was a “fundamental weakness” in governance arrangements at the SPA.

“HMICS considers that the current SPA internal executive structures are impacting negatively on the effectiveness and efficiency of the SPA to perform its statutory functions and must be addressed as a matter of urgency,” the report said.

HMICS added that there had been signs of improvement in SPA operations in recent months.

The report concluded the recent decision to move back to public meetings “has been made reluctantly and some members continue to believe their original approach is justified”.

“This is illustrative of an ongoing lack of appreciation amongst some members of stakeholder views and the need to secure public confidence in policing governance,” it said.

However, HMICS concluded the “primary” reason for restricting access to board papers had been to reduce press reports and said attempting to embargo papers was not desirable or sustainable.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Derek Penman said: “The scrutiny of policing must not only be effective, it must also be seen to be effective.

“While there have been positive improvements under the current chair, the recent parliamentary scrutiny and media concerns over openness and transparency have weakened confidence in the SPA and detracted from its ability to perform its statutory function.”

Responding to the report, Flanagan, who resigned earlier this month, said: “SPA has already acknowledged recent mistakes made, has listened to the strengthened civic and public concerns around transparency and responded accordingly.”

Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Claire Baker said: “A complete overhaul of the management structure at the SPA is now needed.”