Sepa chief Terry A'Hearn quit over allegations of a sexual nature

Ex-chief executive Terry A'Hearn joined Sepa in 2015

The chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency quit over allegations of a "sexual nature" made by two people, it has been confirmed.

Terry A'Hearn, who had led the watchdog since 2015, left his role with immediate effect on 19 January.

Sepa chairman Bob Downes has now told staff the allegations against Mr A'Hearn were of a sexual nature but did not involve sexual assault.

He also said there were claims of a culture of bullying and harassment.

Sepa is the Scottish government public body tasked with making sure the environment and human health are protected by monitoring air, land, and water quality.

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It is responsible for controlling pollution from more than 5,000 sites and employs 1,300 people at 22 offices.

Mr A'Hearn, who was paid about £125,000 in 2020, resigned in January but Sepa said at the time it needed to protect the anonymity of the people who made the conduct allegations.

Sepa's chairman said he now had the consent of the two individuals who made the claims against Mr A'Hearn to say they were of a sexual nature.

Mr Downes said they did not involve sexual assault and the matter had not been referred to Police Scotland.

He added: "Since his departure, we've also heard concerns from Sepa Unison regarding the tenure and culture of the previous chief executive in relation to bullying and harassment.

"Sepa has a clear code of conduct and takes all conduct allegations very seriously indeed."

'Difficult time'

Kirsty Johnston, the Unison union area organiser for Sepa, said: "This has been a difficult time for staff, particularly for those who raised the allegations of bullying and inappropriate sexual behaviour.

"Unison has worked closely with Sepa management - supporting staff who felt bullied and undermined, and working with Sepa managers to ensure their complaints are being handled properly."

Mr Downes said Sepa had confirmed a package of measures to support staff, including a confidential internal route to record general observations regarding the tenure of the previous chief executive.

He confirmed that Jo Green would be continuing as acting chief executive.

The BBC has approached Mr A'Hearn for comment.