Hawick Common Riding: Police chief calls for more inclusion

The chief constable of Police Scotland has urged Hawick common riding to continue its efforts to be inclusive.

Delivering a speech at this year's event, Sir Iain Livingstone welcomed the steps which had already been taken.

The police chief highlighted the need for the festival to be "welcoming, inclusive and enjoyable for all."

Hawick Common Riding, which is held every June in the Borders town, has faced claims of discrimination against female participants.

As a guest at this year's Common Riding, Sir Iain said he was grateful to have been invited to take part in such an "important and historic" event for the area.

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"It is important to remember history," he said.

"But recognising and honouring tradition cannot be a barrier to progress, fairness and inclusion."

Last month, the chief constable admitted that Police Scotland was institutionally racist and discriminatory.

In his speech, he said policing in Scotland had developed over the decades and was enhanced when it better reflected and represented all communities.

Hawick Common Riding is one of a number of summer festivals held in the Borders

He gave the example of one intake of 300 police officers last year which had been evenly split between men and women.

That was the kind of progress which would benefit any organisation which embraced it, he said.

"We must continue to do more to accelerate change to build a service where everyone knows they are valued and are able to thrive and flourish," he said.

"The onus is on us, the police service, to address gaps and challenge any bias or discrimination that arises, known or unwitting, at every level to continually earn the confidence of all communities.

"These are hard challenges which we are meeting head on."

He said the challenges were not unique to policing and were shared in many organisations and institutions "right across society".

"I know that Hawick Common Riding has also had to address these challenges and rightly make changes in the name of fairness," he said.

"As your chief guest, I wish to commend the changes you have made and urge you to continue to drive progress underlining and ensuring that this important tradition is welcoming, inclusive and enjoyable for all people."