'Sexist' email was slap in the face, says former police officer

Rhona Malone claims she was subjected to a series of sexist comments

A former firearms officer who was told two female officers should not be deployed together when there were men on duty has said the comment "felt like a slap in the face".

Rhona Malone has raised an employment tribunal action against Police Scotland alleging sex discrimination.

On the first day of the tribunal, Ms Malone said she wanted "accountability for what went wrong".

Police Scotland has denied claims it has a culture of sexism.

Ms Malone, from West Lothian, joined the police in 2009 and seven years later she successfully applied to become a firearms officer.

In January 2018, Ms Malone and another female officer were copied into an email from an inspector who said that for operational reasons he did not want to see two female officers deployed together when there were sufficient male staff on duty.

The male inspector went on to write that other than the obvious differences in physical capacity, this made more sense from a "search, balance of testosterone perspective".

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The tribunal heard that the inspector had since acknowledged the email was very badly worded and that he had wanted to ensure that pairings of officers going out together were the strongest possible.

The email was also not the view of senior management in Police Scotland, the tribunal heard.

Ms Malone was a police officer for seven years before qualifying as a firearms officer

But Ms Malone claimed the email "felt like a slap in the face" and was part of a wider sexism issue that she and other female colleagues in the force had faced.

Asked why she had brought the tribunal case, she said it was for "accountability and acknowledgment for what went wrong, it is only right I stand up and say something."

She added: "I was a police officer, I was extremely proud of my job and I helped victims obtain justice and I expected to receive the same.

"For me, it is about changing things for the future. What I went through, there was no need for it."

Non-disclosure agreement

In 2018, Police Scotland told the BBC the email was dealt with immediately and fully investigated. They said the officer who wrote it fully accepted the wording was unacceptable and he apologised.

But Ms Malone was not satisfied and took legal action.

Ms Malone said Police Scotland offered her a pay-out but on the condition she signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement - a legal document which would prevent her speaking about what happened - and she refused.

Police Scotland's Chief Constable, Iain Livingstone, has previously said any kind of discrimination was deplorable and had no place in policing.

The tribunal is expected to last for two weeks.