A SENIOR Police Scotland officer had their £53,000 personal tax bill paid by the taxpayer, a watchdog has found.

Audit Scotland revealed the deputy chief constable, understood to be Rose Fitzpatrick, also received £67,000 in relocation expenses. However, none of the payments were properly disclosed.

The case is highlighted in a new report slamming “failings” in governance and “poor use of public money” at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). Auditor General Caroline Gardner said the body must make immediate improvements.

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The comments come as former health minister Susan Deacon takes the helm at the organisation after previous bosses quit.

Gardner said: “Our audit identified a number of instances of poor governance and poor use of public money. This is unacceptable.

“An immediate priority for the new chair and interim chief officer must be ensuring that the organisation operates more effectively and transparently so that such occurrences are not repeated in the future.”

Payments to Fitzpatrick, including the sum for the tax bill, were revealed in the annual audit of the SPA, although she was not identified.

They were made before former chief executive John Foley and chair Andrew Flanagan stood down amid pressure over “dysfunction” at the organisation, which was highlighted by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland.

Kenneth Hogg has been seconded from the Scottish Government to take on Foley’s role, with Deacon replacing Flanagan.

The report also revealed three temporary senior staff had been employed at a cost of more than £344,000, and that this “did not demonstrate value for money in the use of public funds”.

Meanwhile, the process for appointing an interim chief financial officer “was inconsistent with procurement procedures”.

The report found progress had been made on the financial management of the SPA and Police Scotland, but warned that the next eight years will be “immensely challenging”.

The SPA began 2017-18 with a forecast shortfall of £47.2 million and currently expects deficits of £35.6m in 2018-19 and £15.9m in the following 12 months.

Deacon said: “Audit Scotland’s report offers a very timely independent assessment of the financial management of Police Scotland and the SPA.

“It is vital that the public and Parliament have confidence in the financial management of policing in Scotland. Audit Scotland has highlighted issues where best value was not achieved and governance has been poor.

“I will work with the SPA board and the new chief officer to ensure we learn the lessons from that and that further improvements in decision-making, transparency and process are made.”

James Gray, Police Scotland’s chief financial officer, added: “Police Scotland is committed to ensuring that the financial management of our budget is of the highest standard.

“We will continue to work with the authority to develop our financial planning as business plans become clearer.”

Tory shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “This report could lead some to think the SPA has been behaving like some kind of dodgy offshore tax haven.

“One of the driving forces behind setting up a single force was to improve transparency and accountability. Instead, things seem murkier than ever.”

Labour’s Jackie Baillie, acting convener of Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee, said: “Our committee’s previous inquiry helped to expose unacceptable behaviour at the SPA, which led to bosses stepping down from senior roles.

“The only ray of hope is that the SPA now has a new chair and chief executive at the helm. They must improve its tattered reputation and restore public confidence in how policing is run in Scotland.”