British Transport Police/ Police Scotland Merger
Debate between Alan Brown and Martin Whitfield(6 years, 2 months ago)
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Martin Whitfield
Who deals with it from the British Transport police perspective?
Alan Brown
Obviously, I am not involved in the day-to-day workings, but it would depend where the incident was reported to. It is clear that working practices could be put in place, to be agreed between companies, about who to speak to about an incident and who would take charge.
Alan Brown
The hon. Member for East Lothian (Martin Whitfield) has said he welcomes the pause in the process, but in fact he considers it as an opportunity to kill the policy off outright. He said that the British Transport police centre of excellence on terrorism was in London because London was more prone to terrorist attacks, but I do not see why that means that the Scottish division should not be incorporated into Police Scotland. There is still clear cross-border co-operation on such matters.
Alan Brown
I cannot just now. The hon. Member for Glasgow North East spoke of an automatic dilution of skills. That is not a logical conclusion. If a railway division is retained in the new set-up, there should not be a dilution of skills. In fact, it is a way to enhance skills and opportunities within Police Scotland.
Referendum on Scottish Independence
Debate between Alan Brown and Martin Whitfield(6 years, 5 months ago)
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Alan Brown
If the facts change, we have the right to change our minds in line with the facts, and we weigh that up going forward.
Martin Whitfield
On a point of order, Sir Roger. At the start of this debate, it was indicated that those on the Back Benches would have five minutes, in order to allow everyone to speak. It seems that some people will now lose the opportunity.