Lothian and Borders police grant shamed cop taxi licence while suspended on full pay POLICE chiefs have allowed a disgraced officer to become a TAXI DRIVER – while still on the public payroll.
PC Greig Anderson – paid £115,000 while suspended from duty for 42 months – has been able to get a licence to drive a black cab in Edinburgh, despite being a convicted criminal.
Last night, Lothian and Borders Police refused to say if they had raised any objection to him being given the licence.
Chief constable David Strang has the option of formally objecting to any taxi licence in the force area if officers believe the applicant is not a fit and proper person.
But his team of spokesmen would not say last night if such an objection had been raised. And Edinburgh City Council also refused to confirm or deny if one had been received.
Anderson, 37, was convicted 13 months ago of neglect of his duty as a police officer following the seizure of evidence items, including cocaine and cannabis, at his family home and the home of his girlfriend.
Last night, police sources outside the Lothian and Borders force described the situation as “remarkable”.
One senior police insider said: “This guy Anderson certainly sounds like someone who might be judged ‘not fit and proper’ to hold a licence.
“It’s incredible it’s got this far. First things first, the chief constable could have tabled an objection.
“If he’s a convicted criminal and he’s done something serious enough for them to be considering kicking him out of the police, why should he be fit to be trusted with ferrying the public around?
“Secondly, you have to ask why the council granted him a licence, presumably knowing he is a suspended cop with a conviction.
“Lastly, he shouldn’t be doing any other work without express permission as he’s a suspended police officer.”
Anderson, 37, was granted his one-year licence by Edinburgh City Council last October.
He put in his application last June, three months after his conviction, for which he was sentenced to 140 hours’ community service.
Ian Murray, MP for Edinburgh South, said: “This case has not put Lothian and Borders Police in the best light and it would appear there are more questions about how this was handled.
“In order that the public can have full confidence in both the police and the council’s licensing of taxis, these procedures must be fair and robust and it is of great concern if that has not been the case here.
“Lothian and Borders Police need to explain why this officer is still going through disciplinary procedures nearly four years after he was suspended and why he was granted a taxi licence when it appears he did not meet the requirements?”
As we reported on Tuesday, Anderson was suspended in October 2008 after being caught up in a probe into his drug-dealing colleague, PC Chris McGinn.
He has been on full pay since, and during his time off he’s moved from his family home in Musselburgh to nearby Dalkeith, where he’s had a baby with his new girlfriend.
Despite it being THIRTEEN MONTHS since Anderson’s conviction, Lothian and Borders Police have yet to finish internal misconduct proceedings, meaning he’s still on the public payroll and has pocketed around £35,000 plus pension payments since the conviction.
The head of the Lothian police board, councillor Iain Whyte, said this week the force has been too slow handling misconduct cases and he wants to see them completed within three months.
The Scottish Police Federation yesterday confirmed officers need express permission from their chief constable to do another job, even if they are suspended.
Last night, the Lothian and Borders press office kept Strang, 54, out of the firing line and said the force’s deputy chief, Steve Allen, was able to approve officers doing other jobs.
A spokeswoman said the force told the council’s licensing committee about Anderson’s conviction and that he was an officer.
She said: “A police officer is required to have the permission of the deputy chief constable to undertake non police-related work for hire or reward.
“To this date, no such application has been received from Greig Anderson.”
Edinburgh Council said: “Greig Anderson has been granted a taxi licence. It is our policy to make this information available on the public register. We are unable to comment further.”
Anderson declined to comment when we contacted him at home last night.
●Have you seen Anderson driving a cab? Call us on 0141 309 3251 or email us at
reporters@dailyrecord.co.uksource:
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